Mass Effect: Sins of the Future
by RainthelingeringSentiment
Summary: As burning stars fell from the space, A Spectre filled with regrets at his final moments at the crucible, all he wanted was one last chance to change his past and become the hero his universe deserved and thanks to an unlikely source, the Commander is sent hurdling into the past in an alternate universe similar to save it but can he change this universe's fate? Time Travel AU Fic
1. Chapter 1

Rain: Hello everyone, Rain here and I'm here to re-introduce this familiar **_Mass Effect_** Fic. Truth be told, I think it's cursed. As **_Mass Effect: Redemption for the Future_**, It was a flop so I took it off to work on it.

And while **_Mass Effect: Melody from the Future_**was a success, for some strange reason, it was deleted by Fanfiction itself and it stunned the loving stew out of me and it was then I decided to shelve it completely.

But…After so many people wanted me to upload it, I decided I would do it one last time...so all of you, Enjoy this fanfic known as…**_Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

Jack: Just read the fucking shit people!

* * *

**_Story Name_**: Mass Effect: Sins of the Future

**_Genre:_** Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Romance and Drama

**_Ratings: _**T-M Rating

**_Pairings:_** Shepard/Tali'Zorah, FemShepard/Liara and many, many more

**_Summary: _** As burning stars filled the sky, A Spectre filled with regrets at his final moments at the crucible, all he wanted was one last chance to change his past and become the hero but thanks to an unlikely source, Commander Rock Shepard is sent hurdling into the past in an alternate universe similar to his own to change the outcome but will going through the battle with Reapers once more change him into this hero? Or will the mistakes he made repeat themselves? AU

**_Disclaimer:_** Do not own.

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

**_Chapter One: A New Dawn_**

Tired.

Broken.

Defeated.

These are the words Rockland "Rock" Shepard could describe himself as he sat beside the now deceased Admiral David Anderson, who had the dignity to smile in his last moments.

To those that knew him, Shepard was a force to be reckoned with. His prowess in battle, his unwavering determination, his brutal honesty, his cunning and his willingness to do anything to get the job done had given him the admiration of his peers as well as his commanding officers but as he sat there next to the dead Admiral, bleeding and tired, all he could think of was _'How did I end up like this?'_

Shepard looked at the deceased man by his side and instantly felt foolish for thinking what he thought. His friend...One of the few people who never betrayed him had died and here he was thinking of his own misfortunes.

"I guess I'm still the same as I was years ago in that regard…" He said to himself as he forced his tired body upright on the ground beneath him, achingly stepping towards the console where Hackett's voice came to life...How it did, he couldn't guess but at this moment in time, he didn't care.

"What can I do for you sir?" He asked tiredly, his legs feeling weaker with each step he took until he fell to the ground with a grunt.

_"Shepard? Commander, are you still there?" _Hackett's concerned voice rang out into his ear, causing him to weakly groan.

Of course he wasn't alright. He had been shot at by not only a laser beam that incinerated many but he was shot at repeatedly. The only reason he was still breathing at this point was due to sheer stubbornness to die before his mission was complete.

Shepard groaned weakly as he forced himself to his knees and gasped out "What do you need me t-to do?"

No matter how beaten and broken he was, Shepard would never let himself give up, especially now that he was so damn close to ending this war between the galaxy and the Reapers. He had to see this through...Just one last time.

Hackett's voice was slowly fading out of the existence of Shepard's mind but he had thankfully heard what Hackett needed and forced himself to his feet but once more, his legs had given up and he fell once more but that didn't stop him...Instead, he dragged himself to console with every ounce of power he had left in his power but as he got to the console, he could feel that his limit was reached and like a fallen soldier, he laid in the spot he had crawled to, no longer bothering to move.

He could feel that his time had truly arrived as he laid there on the ground.

There would be no Cerberus to bring him back, no one from his ship to find him and take him to Chakwas, nothing. "Ha...I figured I would die alone again..." He murmured tiredly as he slowly turned his body around to face the ceiling only to see the many stars above him.

He didn't know why but as he laid there, blood flowing from his various wounds, a small tear fell from his eye.

He was never a man that had felt guilt for anything that he has done in his life but as he laid there, bleeding out as slow as possible, he began to think of all that he did.

When he was a child, he had felt darkness creeping into his heart but he had tried to ignore it but when his family was torn apart by those filthy Batarians right before his young eyes, he felt the darkness take over his heart and he held on to it. When he became old enough, he enlisted into Marines, pledging that he would do anything in his power to protect those he loved but he was lying.

He loved nothing back then.

He lived for revenge for the fall of his colony at the hands of the Batarians.

Nothing else mattered to him but killing as many of those filthy creatures by his hands.

And he had finally gotten that chance.

* * *

**_Flashback_**

_Standing there in the middle of a room filled with the bodies of batarians and marines alike was a man in black armor with a red strip going down the right arm of the armor, the blood of batarians falling down the black armor and in the man's right hand was a long blade with a black hilt and an obsidian colored blade that was also dripping with the blood of the fallen batarians._

_And finally, the man was missing his helmet, revealing the short black hair of the man which was matted onto his face by the blood of the slain and the man himself had a crazed, cruel smirk that was plastered on his face and with the one eye that was visible, it held rage._

_Pure rage._

**_End Flashback_**

* * *

**_Present Time_**

**_Commander Shepard_**

Shepard could remember the all that he had done on that mission.

The countless lives he had sent to their deaths to get his revenge and at the time, he did not care for those he sent to die because he refused to let them win again. He refused to let these heartless monsters escape with their lives.

Because of his actions on that mission, he became the "Butcher of Torfan" and because of this action, his commanding officer was honorably discharged and disappeared, but Shepard did not care for his commanding officer. He had gotten the revenge he had craved for so long but he didn't know that this selfish, evil act would set him down the path of despair.

He was the answer to all the missions that had become…Problematic to the military and they knew he was cold, calculating and ruthless and the military knew he was one of the best.

All he knew was to get the job done at any cost necessary. It went so far that for a few years, he was paired with many more people like him and they became the Black-Ops group named "New Dawn," but he found himself the sole survivor of a trap made by the people who he and his team were going to kill.

Cerberus…

It was after this mission where he was recruited on the Normandy and that is when his life changed for the better.

All he had to do was extract the Prothean beacon but instead, this one mission sent him across the galaxy with aliens and humans alike to hunt down a Spectre named Saren and his synthetic allies, the Geth.

During this time, he kept himself at a distance to all that tried to get to know him.

This was a mission that was the utmost importance for not only himself to prove to the council that he was the better Spectre, but to himself that he could hunt down this man and kill him.

A lot of sacrifices were made which cost him the life of one his teammates but Shepard couldn't allow himself to feel remorse, especially after sacrificing his trusted and loyal Lieutenant, Kaidan Alenko.

He had a choice and he made it and that person carried out their final mission as they fled that god forsaken place.

In the end, he killed Saren not only once, but twice, once the Reaper known as Sovereign took over the Turian's body, with the help of a Krogan battle master and the Quarian girl.

But he didn't allow himself to celebrate this victory because a bigger battle awaited him on the horizon and it was something that got his blood burning red hot.

But as the years went on, Shepard could feel the darkness that had grown around his heart grow stronger, which was bad news to both his allies and enemies because after those bugs, the Collectors killed him and Cerberus resurrected him, he was itching for a fight. He enlisted allies, old and new for their fight and even had the chance to kill the Shadow Broker himself but at the end of all of this, half of his team was dead and he was sitting in a jail cell…All because he made the choice no one would and stopped the Reapers from killing them all.

The only solace he could give was that once again, the Batarians felt his wrath.

Then Judgment day arrived.

They blackened the skies.

They were each a nation.

They slaughtered millions.

It was as Sovereign had predicted.

They had existed because the Reapers allowed it and when it all came to ahead, the joint species operation and therefore, every single being breathing in this universe was going to be wiped out because the Reapers demanded it.

They were truly unstoppable and because of this, Shepard grew desperate and because of that, the darkness in his heart grew until he became as cold as the machines themselves. He murdered his friends, those who served with him in the past, whether by gun or his actions, he did not care. The Reapers had to be stopped and they were simply in his way.

He was too late and busy to help Jack and was forced to kill her when Cerberus morphed her into a husk.

He was too late in saving Thane, a Drell similar to himself from Kai Leng.

He shot Mordin in the back to sabotage the cure of the Genophage, effectively forcing the Krogan into extinction.

He betrayed Wrex and then murdered him in cold blood.

He let Samara commit suicide and immediately after that, he shot her daughter in the back as well.

He was too late to save Miranda, Zaeed and Kasumi from their deaths.

He even had to shoot Ashley when she refused to back down from getting the traitor human councilor.

But out of all these deaths…there were two haunted him.

Despite the darkness around his heart, there were two people that always bought light into him and the first name was Garrus Vakarian. When he first met him, he really could not stand the turian at all but by the end of their hunt for Saren, they had become friends. He even convinced the turian to become a Spectre.

Even when they reunited, their friendship had grown to unspeakable heights but when the raid on the Collector's base happened…Garrus died, taking a shot for him from a Collector.

That was the first thing that set him further down his darkened path.

The second was the death of the woman he had fallen in love with…

Her name was Tali'Zorah vas Normandy….She, this shy little quarian had snuck her way into his heart through her laughter, her tears, her smile, her strength, her loyalty and her compassion. She was the best thing that had entered his life but despite this, he couldn't let her get close to him.

He was far too gone for her light and she saw firsthand at how far he had gone when he let her people be exterminated by the Geth.

He could remember the screams, the wailing, the hits she delivered to him due to his choice and at the end, she took her own life by leaping off the cliff behind her, all while looking him in the eye without her mask.

And it broke his heart.

He could still remember the heartbroken look in her silvery eyes as she gaze into him as her black hair, freed from her veil, whipped around her, shielding the tears that were flowing down her face.

And her last words had stuck with him.

_"I…I loved you…"_

And now as he sat there, staring at the stars before him, more tears fell from his eyes onto the blood beneath him. He had done so much evil in his lifetime and at the time, he was doing what he had to do but now, all he felt was guilt.

He wished that he could go back to change it all.

To change the deaths he had caused.

To change his ultimate destiny of dying alone.

To become something more than a gloried killer.

He wanted to be what Garrus was on Omega.

He wanted to be what Tali was to the Quarians.

He wanted to be the hero everyone thought he was…

But as he closed his eyes, he knew that there was no way he could be any of that.

_'I…wish I could go b-back to change it…'_

And with that….All went black.

* * *

**_Eden Prime_**

**_Team Shepard_**

"The mission is in your hands now Shepard! We're counting on you!" Captain David Anderson roared over the harsh winds of Eden Prime entered the cargo bay as Commander Shepard and his ground team, Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko and Solider Richard Jenkins, each of them armed with a pistol, a sniper rifle, an assault rifle and a shotgun which were all placed conveniently on their backs, with the exception of their shotguns which were placed on the back of their hips.

"We will complete this mission at all costs, Captain Anderson," Shepard's deep, smooth voice replied, his cold blue eyes staring at his captain beneath his thick yellow visor.

With a stiff nod from Anderson, the three soldiers leapt out from the cargo bay and landed in a crouching position onto the ground of Eden Prime and as the three slowly stood up, each of their eyes widened in surprise.

Eden Prime was once called a Paradise to the human race, the crowned jewel of its galaxy, one of the most beautiful place in the universe, but what Shepard knew and read about this place before and what he was seeing now were now radically two different things.

The once clear blue skies were now a blood red color, the ground, which once was a luscious color green was now faded and crisp brown with splashes of blood on top of it and as the three men looked upon the horizon, smoke could be seen billowing into the air and the faint screams and gunfire could be heard as well.

"Oh my god…" Shepard's eyes immediately turned to the youngest member of their team with worry hidden in them and he was right to worry. Young Richard L Jenkins had fallen to his knees at the sight of the beloved planet he had grown up from in the state that is was in, with tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

Before his meeting with the Turian Spectre Nihlus Kryik, Shepard had overheard Richard talking to Dr. Karin Chakwas about his times back when he was a colonist on Eden Prime and despite wanting him to leave the planet, he loved it dearly and Shepard could clearly see that the man was in pain and as much as he wanted to care for the man's plight, he couldn't right now.

He had a mission to do and he would accomplish it.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Shepard's head turned just enough so he could see Richard's fallen form and said with an empty voice "Jenkins, I know the destruction of your home world is devastating but we have a mission and we need to get it done….Mourning can wait."

Shepard could see the shock in both Kaidan's and Richard's eyes but as he turned his head away, he heard Richard say in a heated tone "Commander, my home world is burning to the ground. My family, my friends…All of them could be hurting…Even dying and that's all you can say to me? That Mourning can wait?"

"We are down here to retrieve the Beacon. Nothing else matters. Not this planet, not these people, not your tears. This mission is my top priority and it should be yours too as well." Shepard knew that the man shouldn't hear these words coming from his mouth.

Especially when the place Richard had grown up was in flames like this but Shepard knew that the man would continue down this path unless he did something now.

He needed his soldier to be focused for this mission and if angering Richard is what it took to get the man to focus, he would do it. The mission was important but leaving his teammate in this distressed state could lead to the man's death and Shepard didn't want that at all.

"If this is too much for you, I will order you to return to the Normandy and await our return…But if you are able to stand tall and face the ones who have done this to your world, you will follow my orders right down to the letter…"

Despite his words, Richard continued to stare fiercely into his eyes but he stood firm, his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. "Now what is it going to be Jenkins? Will you stay and follow my orders or will you leave?" For a moment, Shepard had a strong feeling that the man would take a swing but after the harsh stare down, Richard lowered his gaze and nodded reluctantly.

Giving a nod to the relieved looking Lieutenant, the ground team swiftly pulled out their pistols and slowly advanced down a steep hill, their nerves steeled and their eyes sharp, looking out at any movement that wasn't their own. Soon, the trio came upon a rocky incline in which Shepard's eyes flashed to the two men by his side before signaling the two to hold their positions behind him.

The two men followed his orders and held their positions while Shepard silently moved forward, keeping his back against the mountain next to him, he reached the end and peaked over the side and saw four pair of recon drones. Pulling his head back, he silently signaled for Kaidan and Richard to get behind the two large mounds of rocks nearby but also signaled to keep low and to keep quiet.

Nodding, the two men crouched down and silently walked down the incline and while Kaidan took the one closest to him, Richard took the one far from both Kaidan and Shepard but as Richard walked forward, forward, his foot had nicked a small mound of rocks, causing them to cascade to ground as well as alerting the recon drones.

Seeing this, Richard immediately dove behind the stone as the drones began to fire at him and had he not dived behind that large stone, there would have been a strong chance he would have been killed immediately.

Seeing their chance, Shepard and Kaidan stood up from their protection and shot at the drones swiftly, causing two of them to explode upon impact of their bullets and the third one to hover wobbly in the air before diving to the ground and exploding on impact.

After a tense second to see if more were coming, Shepard lowered his gun and looked at where the drones were while Kaidan went to Richard and asked if he was ok.

"I'm ok Lieutenant," Richard replied, getting on his feet slowly, an uneasy chuckle playing from his lips. "Thanks for asking. Whew, for a moment there, I thought I was going to-"Just then, another drone popped out from behind them and with sharp reflexes, Shepard turned around and shot it with his pistol, causing it to explode on impact.

"You were saying?" Kaidan said with a relieved sigh, causing Richard to let a blush of embarrassment form on his face but then the two grew serious as Shepard's voice reined them under control.

"Do you two hear that?"

Both men looked at their Commander and strained their ears for whatever he was hearing only to achieve success when they hear the sounds of gunfire nearby.

"I hear it too Commander," Kaidan said before looking at Richard, who nodded in agreement.

"Then let's move…Whatever has done all of this, they need to be stopped…" Shepard commanded and together, the three trekked through the small area of trees until they saw someone with white and pink armor running to take cover while firing back at an unseen enemy only to fall to the ground and that's when the three saw a twelve white colored robots and one larger red one walking towards her, guns drawn and ready to fire

"Whoa, there's a marine!" Richard said in shock before adding with shock in his voice "And she's running from…Geth?" Shepard's eyes narrowed when he heard Richard say that word.

Geth.

The Geth hadn't been outside the veil for over two hundred years since their war with the Quarian people.

Why would they be here of all places?

"That can't be. The Geth haven't been seen outside the veil for over two hundred years," Kaidan whispered with a stunned look before he and Richard shared a look to each other in concern.

"Until now…" Shepard's eyes narrowing behind his visor as he put his pistol away and pulled out his shotgun.

Like Richard, he had saw the marine taking cover as well before they saw the Geth shooting at the marine.

They had to save her.

She may be the key to the answers that they seek.

"Jenkins, I want you on sniper duty until all threats have been neutralized then wait for my command. Alenko, you're with me. That marine must be saved at all costs," Shepard ordered, giving a small nod to Richard before darting off with Kaidan following behind.

Richard took a deep breath and pulled out his sniper rifle and aimed it at the first Geth that was closest to her and with a "This is for my home!" He took the shot and smirked when the machine fell to its knees and on to the ground, sparks flying from its "eye".

"One down…"

Shepard and Kaidan charged forward until they reached a cover and with a single nod, the two leapt from the large rock and charged forward once more, Shepard's shotgun and Kaidan's Pistol screeching to life as four Geth fell to the ground, oil and sparks flying from their shells as the bullets slammed against them.

Shepard ran forward and slide behind another rock and switched out his shotgun for a pistol and shot at the next to Geth that were heading in their direction before leaping over the rock and tossing a grenade at the closet Geth and after a quick explosion which luckily managed to catch another Geth as well.

He leapt from his spot when the smoke cleared to see one Geth dead, another one crawling and one Geth just getting out of cover so with a small sneer, he ran towards that Geth and jumped up to knee it in its head before wrapping his legs around its head and firing three shots into it, felling it instantly while Jenkins managed to take out the second Geth that was still crawling around without its legs.

Shepard then rolled off of the dead Geth's body as it was falling and landed into a kneeling position and pulled out his assault rifle and shooting up the third Geth's body until it fell in two then with another fast switch, he returned his shotgun into his hand and as the dead Geth slowly split apart to reveal another one aiming, Shepard fired twice, instantly making it crumble to its knees in defeat.

He then switched his shotgun into his sniper rifle and aimed directly at the red Geth's head and fired one clean shot, sending it flying back to the ground as its head practically shattered from the impact.

Switching one last time back into a pistol, Shepard rolled into cover as three Geth appeared, firing at him but Kaidan's biotics flared and with a thrust of his hand, a wave of purple energy flew from his hands and towards the three Geth, sending them off of their feet where he and Shepard threw a grenade at the three just as they were getting up.

After the explosion and a tense moment of silence, Shepard and Kaidan lowered their weapons, panting softly. The battle was over for now but as the two turned around, one of the Geth they had thought they had killed was slowly walking behind them, limping but as it lifted up its weapon, it bullet suddenly found itself slamming into its head, shattering it as well.

Kaidan and Shepard turned around at the sound of the body dropping with surprise in Kaidan's eyes but a calculating look on Shepard's but that's when they heard Jenkins' voice on their intercom, saying _"Sorry for the scare Commander. I got that thing good, didn't I?'_

Instead of responding to the bragging tone in Jenkins' voice, Shepard's head turned to the Marine in the pink and white armor and said "Get down here Jenkins. We have a survivor."

_"Understood Commander,"_ Came Richard's reply through the headset.

His calculating eyes then turned to the Marine in the pink and white armor who was now standing before him and Kaidan, her mouth opening to thank them for helping but at the moment, he did not need her thanks.

He needed answers so with a small glare beneath his thick yellow visor, Shepard asked the woman "Marine, I have two questions for you. What is your name and rank and what is going on here?"

The woman paused for a moment, a little taken aback from the harsh tone in his voice but she answered "I'm Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams Sir." She gave a quick salute before she lowered her hand and continued "And at the moment, Eden prime is being attacked by the Geth," Shepard didn't acknowledge Richard running up behind him but continued to stare at the woman before him, waiting for her to continue.

"It all happened so fast sir. One moment, everything was normal then the next, hell. It all started when this shadow flew over the area then seconds later, the Geth struck…My whole platoon was wiped out from the sudden ambush…I'm the only one left."

"Gunnery Chief, we are here for the Beacon. Can you lead us to it?" Shepard asked her crisply, ignoring the haunted look the woman had displayed when she told him and his squad about her platoon.

Once again, he knew that this wasn't the right thing to do to someone when they were upset but he knew that the more they kept focus, the easier things were for the person.

Ashley looked as if she had gotten punched in her stomach when Shepard didn't even bat an eye about her platoon being wiped out but instead of lashing out like she wanted to, she simply nodded her head, saying "Sure…Just follow me."

Shepard nodded and kept his pistol held tightly in his hand as he, Kaidan and Richard followed him.

* * *

**_Team Shepard_**

**_Beacon Dig Sight_**

"This is the dig site…Damn it, the beacon was right here!"

Shepard's hidden eyes flashed up to Ashley's form when she spoke, his jaw clenched lightly. "It must've been moved somewhere else…" Richard said with a deep frown on his face.

"I agree but the question is, was it moved by the Geth or was it moved by our side?" Kaidan asked, his arms crossed in thought.

"Hard to say," Ashley answered, falling silent for a moment before adding "Maybe we should head up to the research camp. Perhaps we'll find our answer there."

Shepard nodded in agreement, his eyes still gazing at the spot where the beacon was supposed to be. This wasn't how this mission was supposed to go at all and it was frustrating him even more now that the beacon was missing.

"Do you think there are any survivors there?" Richard asked her, his eyes flashing to hers with a hopeful look shining through them. Ashley saw the hopeful look in his eyes and as much as she felt that she was the sole person alive here, she also held some hope that there were some survivors.

"God I hope so….If there are survivors, they could be hiding in the camps, it's located just up this ridge, up the ramps," Ashley answered.

Shepard looked at the three in front of him just as they looked at him and for a moment, he stayed silent but then he gave them a nod, saying "Then let's move out."

With Ashley in the lead, the four man squad walked up the ramps with their weapons drawn up to the research camp but as they walked, Kaidan murmured to his team "It's a good place for an ambush, let's keep our guards up."

Richard opened his mouth to say something but then he stopped dead in his tracks, his head tilting to the left.

"Do you guys hear that?" He asked his team.

Everyone stopped and looked at him.

"Hear what?" Kaidan asked, confusion littering his eyes.

"That static sound…" Richard answered.

The group went silent and they were all surprised to hear the faint static sound as well. "It's faint but I can hear it…" Ashley said while Shepard gripped his gun tightly.

Something was wrong.

"Let's keep moving," Shepard responded after a moment, his eyes steeled and ready for anything but as he walked forward past Ashley and towards the camp, he saw eleven black spikes going high into the air with…a body impaled upon it.

"Good god, what the hell is that?" Richard asked with a horrified and disgusted tone in his voice, his pistol now raised.

Suddenly, one of the spikes began to descend towards the ground until it stopped on the platform, revealing a bald, blackened body with glowing blue electrical wires infused with its body which seemed to lead to its four brightly glowing blue eyes.

Slowly, it leaned off of the platform and placed its feet on the ground, its body hunching forward and its arms slung low. "Oh my god, it's still alive!" Kaidan exclaimed harshly as he held his pistol towards it.

"What did the Geth do to them?" Ashley roared with anger as her shotgun was aimed directly at it.

Suddenly, the thing's head turned and saw them and let out a loud, static-y shriek and started to charge forward towards them. The four Marines aimed at it and fired at it repeatedly but each bullet only seemed to slow it down for a moment before it continued forward.

Finally, Richard pulled out his rifle and aimed at its head and fired one shot, effectively stopping it for good. "What the hell did we just stumble upon?" Kaidan asked with a shuddered breath after a moment.

Suddenly, the remaining nine spikes began to lower rapidly, revealing the same forms that they had just killed and with a unified shriek, they all charged forward.

"A trap," Shepard responded darkly as he lifted his assault rifle and aimed at the closest one's head, sending it to the ground effortlessly before charging forward to take down two more but when he managed to kill the second one with five bullets to its chest and one to its head, the third one had gotten close enough before hunching forward, its arms holding its body tightly as its wires glowing brightly until electricity cackled violently around its body.

The static like noise coming from its mouth was getting higher and higher while its arms stretched out to its sides and without warning, a large bubble of an electrical wave exploded outwards from its body, knocking Shepard off of his feet as well as overheating all of his weapons but before he could get to his feet, the unholy creation leapt in the air towards Shepard, only to get flung back from a bullet hitting its chest.

Hearing a "Got the bugger commander!" Instantly told Shepard who had made the shot and once he got on his feet, he saw another one of those beings coming towards him, he ran forward and gave it a brutal clothesline with the butt of his assault rifle, sending it slamming to the ground where he pulled out his pistol and shot it point blank into its head, shattering it upon impact.

Ashley and Kaidan swiftly followed suit and started to aim at these beings heads, with Kaidan taking down two more and Ashley taking down three while Richard kept his distance and used his Sniper rifle to take out the remaining one that was getting closer to his location, ending their brief but terrifying scuffle.

"I think that was the last of them," Ashley said to Shepard, her voice distant but it held a slight tremble. Shepard realized that she could have known these…things that used to be human beings but he refused to say anything; instead, his eyes flashed to one the doors in one of the buildings nearby.

The door panel was glowing red instead of green, indicating that it was locked.

"Everyone, there's someone in that shed over there," Shepard exclaimed with a frown on his lips.

The three Marines looked towards Shepard and towards the door and saw the red door panel and then looked towards Shepard. With a single nod, the four of them, with their weapons still drawn, walked over to the panel.

With a look towards Kaidan, the Biotic nodded and hacked the security lock, turning the red panel to green with a hiss, the door swiftly slid up, opening the door.

With their guns still drawn, the four of them entered the room to see a young twenty-five year old Caucasian woman with short red hair, black eyes, with a white and blue uniform on standing next to a tall, gangly middle aged Caucasian male with balding brown hair, black eyes and a uniform similar to the woman's.

When the door opened, the woman turned around and let out a surprised gasp, initially terrified before letting out a sigh of relief. "Humans, thank the maker," She said with a small smile on her face.

"Hurry, close the door, before they come back," the man whispered harshly with an almost hysterical tone in his voice said as he stepped forward next to her.

"Don't worry, we'll protect you," Richard said with a wide smile on his face but that smile faded away when he stared at the woman. She seemed very familiar to him but he couldn't place her face anywhere just yet.

The woman seemed to smile more at this but she shook her head, saying "Thank you but we'll be ok now. It looks like everyone's gone."

Ashley's face scrunched up in concentration for a moment before realization dawned on her. "You're Dr. Emily Warren. The one in charge of the excavation," Ashley said with a small hint of anger in her voice but Shepard knew it wasn't the doctor she was angry at.

The woman, now known as Emily, gave a short nod, saying "Yes, that's me."

Richard's eyes lit up in surprise when the woman confirmed her identity and suddenly, he stepped forward with a bright smile and said "Hey Emily, do you remember me?" Emily's head tilted to the side for a second before she beamed and wrapped him up in a tight hug.

"Richard! Oh my god, I can't believe it's you!" she exclaimed as he hugged her back, confusing both Ashley and Kaidan but annoying Shepard.

"You know each other?" Ashley asked with amusement in her voice.

Richard and Emily broke away, both with subdued smiles on their faces. "Yes, Richard and I grew up here. We were best friends until he left for the Alliance Military," Emily answered with a nod, her eyes going back to Richard's, who was currently smiling happily down at her. "I'm so glad you're ok. Do you have any news about everyone else?"

"None yet I'm afraid. Everything had happened so fast, I hadn't even had a chance to reach out to anyone else on the planet…So many lives were lost today Rich…I just hope our families are ok," Emily whispered while pulling away from him with a small smile on her face.

Richard nodded in agreement and opened his mouth to say something but Shepard's voice cut through the room with "Gunnery Chief Williams said you were in charge of the excavation. Does that mean you know where the Beacon is currently?"

Emily nodded softly and replied with a small shaky voice "Yes I do. It was moved to the space port this morning. Manuel and I stayed behind to pack up the camp. When the attack came, the Marines held them off long enough for us to hide…They gave their lives to save us…"

Shepard saw Ashley look down at the ground on with a small frown, no doubt remembering those things they had encountered, knowing those were the Marines that had tried to stop the Geth.

"No one is saved," Manuel's voice suddenly exclaimed, his hands clenched together tightly as he eyes closed. "The age of humanity is ended. Soon, only corpses and ruin will remain."

Richard slowly turned his head to look at Emily with a look that read "Is this guy serious?"

She could only sigh.

"What else can you tell us about the attack?" Kaidan asked Emily while eying Manuel suspiciously….Just in case the man got jumpy.

"It all happened so fast…" Richard placed a comforting hand on Emily's shaking shoulder, causing her to still with a small smile of thanks towards him before continuing with "O-One minute we were gathering our equipment, the next minute, we were hiding while the Geth swarmed over the camp."

"Legions of destroyers, Bringers of Darkness, Heralds of our extinction!" Manuel added causing Kaidan and Shepard to stare at him while Richard continued to comfort his friend.

"We c-could hear it outside…" She continued, despite her colleague's interruption. "Gunfire, screams. I thought it would never end…Then it just got quiet. The two of us just sat here alone, too afraid to move…Too afraid to breath…." She paused and stared into Richard's face. "Until you arrived…"

Rolling his hidden eyes, Shepard tapped his foot loud enough to get her attention and asked "Did any of you see a Turian come here?"

"I saw him!" Manuel whispered in a harsh, delirious voice. "The Prophet, leader of the enemy. He was here before the attack!" Shepard, Richard and Kaidan all traded a look while Ashley looked confused.

What the hell were they talking about?

"But that's impossible," Kaidan said softly to Ashley, who turned to him in confusion. "Nihlus was on the Normandy with us before the attack. He couldn't have been here."

"I'm sorry," Emily broke into the conversation suddenly, making all eyes turn on her. "Manuel is still…Unsettled. We haven't seen your Turian. We've been hiding in here since the attack remember?"

The three men nodded before Shepard asked "Can you tell us anything about the Beacon?"

"It's…Some type of data module from a galaxy wide communications network. Remarkably well preserved. It could be the most scientific discovery of our lifetime. Miraculously new technology, ground breaking medical advances, who knows what secrets could be locked inside?" She explained, her eyes shining up lightly, causing Richard to laugh.

"She's always like this when she finds something new and exciting," Richard explained with a teasing grin.

"Oh? Like you weren't when the Alliance personally selected you to join?" she retorted with a grin, causing him to laugh slightly more, seemingly taking some edge off of her nerves.

But Manuel made sure to change that when he interrupted with "We had unlocked the heart of evil, We have awakened the beast! We have unleashed…The Darkness…" He ended with a low but terrified whisper.

"Manuel please…This isn't the time," Emily said calmly but clearly her voice was clearly strained.

Richard's eyebrow rose a little more before he finally asked "What's up with him?"

"Well, Manuel has a brilliant mind but he's always been a bit…Unstable. Genius and madness are two sides of the same coin;" She explained with a heavy sigh.

"Is it madness to see the future? Is it madness to see the destruction rushing towards us? Don't you all understand there is no escape, no hope?" Manual stated with anguish in his eyes before he then stepped forward in front of Shepard with a shake of his head, his eyes lowered towards the ground before looking up at Shepard's face, saying "No…I am not mad, I'm the only sane one left!"

"I gave him an extra dose of his medication after the attack. Hopefully after everything has settled, his meds should kick in and put him to sleep," She said but seeing his mouth about to open again finally clicked on Shepard's nerves.

"I have a way to put him asleep now," Shepard announced just before his fist slammed into Manuel's jaw so hard, Manuel was unconscious and snoring before he hit the ground.

"Oh my god! Why did you do that?" Emily exclaimed with surprise and horror in her voice.

"I did it because he could have easily did something rash…And I didn't want to take his life if he did," Shepard replied calmly.

"I…I suppose you're right…" Emily said with a sigh.

"We're done here. Williams, take us to the space port," Shepard commanded.

With a salute, Ashley walked out of the shed first, followed by Kaidan and Shepard but just as Richard was about to leave, He heard Emily call out to him so with a turn of his head, he stared at her with a smile.

"I know, I'll be careful…You always worried too much," Richard said as Emily stepped towards him to give him a brief but strong hug.

"With good reason…Be safe…" She whispered, adding a small little peck to the side of his helmet.

Richard smiled at her and broke away from their short embrace before nodding and running off, leaving her and her sleeping Assistant alone. "Now…Let's get off this planet Manuel."

* * *

**_Team Shepard_**

**_Outside the building_**

Richard ran down the steps of the shed and ran up to his squad just as a loud "bang" was heard all around them, causing all four of them to share a look of confusion at this while Shepard grimaced, feeling that bad feeling in his stomach once more.

"Everyone, let's move out!" he ordered before jogging off, causing his team to follow but as they turned the corner and ran on the dirt road, that's when they saw it.

It was a very large, squid shaped black ship with red bolts of lighting shooting up its body as it slowly began to shoot up into the air. "What in the hell is that?" Kaidan asked.

"Whoa…" Richard said dumbly.

"The fuck is that thing?" Ashley asked.

Shepard had no answers for it but he had a feeling that things had just gotten worse.

And Shepard was right.

Once they hit the Space Port, they had found a deceased Nihlus Kryik laying faced up on the ground. His eyes wide open in surprise and his mouth slacked open as well.

"I guess that answers our question about Nihlus," Kaidan said with a wry grin, given a salute to the fallen Spectre, along with Richard but Ashley merely frowned at the dead turian before looking away.

Shepard had spared the Turian a look and a nod of respect but something had caught his attention so with his pistol drawn, Shepard shouted "Get out here before I put you down!" the others, suddenly hearing the threatening bark from their leader, drew out their guns too, with Ashley adding the sound of her cocking her shotgun for good measure.

Within seconds, a man walked out from behind the crates with a scared expression and with a sigh from all of them, they lowered their guns slightly, reading for anything else to happen. The man had explained what had happened between Nihlus and another Turian named Saren.

"Saren…" Shepard murmured with a wondering tone in his voice but the man continued, telling the four that he saw Saren heading down to the tram station but just as he finished, a gunshot rang out and the man's head suddenly whipped to the side as blood splattered on Ashley's white armor, causing her to shriek in surprise.

Shepard and Kaidan turned their guns on the Geth that had taken the shot while Richard kneeled down to check on the man, the three Marines shooting it until there were multiple bullet holes in its body but another Geth walked from behind the wall and was also taken down without a blink of the eye.

"He's gone Commander," Richard said after the three stopped firing, causing Shepard to grunt in annoyance at the only lead to the case being taken.

"As well as out only witness to Saren killing Nihlus…We must move…" Shepard stated while frowning heavily.

The three nodded at Shepard's command but as Shepard, Richard and Kaidan ran off, Ashley stayed behind to give a small prayer to the dead man before running off after her squad mates.

When she rejoined them, the three males were on the tram, hiding behind the many seats that were there. When she got close to the tram, she was forced to take cover as a bullet whizzed by her helmet, making her swear in surprise while pulling out her shotgun, firing and killing the Geth that had tried to take her out.

"About time you got here," Richard exclaimed with a grin as his pistol screamed into the air, shooting one Geth in the arm, knocking its gun out of its hand and swiftly shot its head, defeating it as Kaidan used his biotics to have them floating in the air so Shepard could shoot them until the two Geth that were floating were nothing more than scrap metal.

Shepard then leapt over the seat, his knees landing on the soft and comfortable cushioning of the chair while he pulled out his assault rifle and with a satisfied grin, he fired at the larger Geth that was barreling through the aisle towards them, making it stumble back with each hit it took until it finally fell to its knees and to the ground in defeat.

"I think that was the last of them," Kaidan said with a pant, his right hand grazing his helmet while his eyes clenched in pain for a moment before he slowly opened his eyes as Richard placed a hand on his shoulder with a small smile, causing the marine to smile in return.

"Thanks," Kaidan said at his friend's wordless comfort.

Ashley looked at the two for a moment with a small smirk written on her face but she didn't say anything. Instead, she turned around and faced Shepard, who was at the tram's console; his hidden eyes narrowed in concentration and said "Do you think there are anymore Geth waiting for us?"

"I wouldn't be surprised, given that every time we go deeper into this place, more and more Geth seem to be around every single corner…" Ashley nodded at this before looking up at the sky, a bitter sigh leaving her lips. "Good…These Geth bastards fucked with the wrong planet…and the wrong team."

That made Shepard smirk even more as the tram began to move forward

Unbeknownst to any of them, thanks to the tram's movement, one of the Geth's that were mercilessly ripped apart from the combination of Kaidan's biotics and Shepard's shotgun single eye began to glow dimly and with a small noise, it began to pull its destroyed upper body up to a shotgun that one of its comrades had left behind.

"It's no problem Kaidan. You're my best friend after all" Richard replied with a smile, unaware that the Geth was trying to lift the shotgun up with its one arm.

"And when did I agree to be that?" Kaidan asked, amusement twinkling in his eyes as they gazed upon his friend, not seeing the Geth slowly aim at his back.

"When you pushed me across the room with your biotics that was pretty fun," Richard gleefully said with a wide grin but then he saw the Geth raising its gun at Kaidan's back.

Without thinking, Richard pushed Kaidan aside while pulling out his pistol and yelling "look out!" but as just as Richard performed this action, the Geth had fired, not only tearing through Richard's shields but Richard's armor as well.

Kaidan, Shepard and Ashley could only look on in muted horror as Richard was sent stumbling backwards and slamming into the ground with a loud "slam", making them all realize what had happened.

And only a second later, the Geth lowered its weapon and the glow in its eye slowly faded away.

"No!" Kaidan shouted in horror as he scrambled to his feet and ran to his friend, who was coughing and hacking in pure, agonizing torture. "Come on Richard, stay with us!" Kaidan shouted while scrambling to find some Medi-gel but to his horror, he was unable to find any on his person.

"Guys! I need Medi-gel!" Kaidan screamed at Ashley and Shepard before looking down at Richard only to see Richard gasping, blood dribbling down his lips.

It was then that Kaidan knew it was hopeless.

It was far too late to save him.

"I-I'm so sorry…" Kaidan whispered to his friend, tears falling from his eyes.

Richard took several more breaths and gripped at Kaidan's hand that rested on his chest and gripped it hard, fear shining in Richard's eyes but then the light faded away and Richard went limp.

Ashley shut her eyes as whispered a soft prayer as Shepard watched Kaidan lower his head on top of his friend's forehead, tears falling from his eyes.

But Shepard didn't feel anything.

He had seen many of his friends pass away under intense circumstances and unlike him, his team or his sister, he didn't allow it to effect him. He had a mission to complete and he would see it to completion. "Alenko…Unless you want the Geth or Saren to succeed in their plans, we need to get to the beacon…" Shepard responded coldly, causing Kaidan's head to whip to him with a glare on his face.

"Can't you show some emotion Commander?! One of your squad mates has been killed!" Kaidan shouted tearfully, anger laced in his face.

"He has," Shepard responded, allowing his voice to soften ever so lightly. "But if we don't get to them…If we do not stop them, his death would be in vain…Do you truly want that to happen?"

Kaidan looked down at Richard's cold expression and after a few seconds, Kaidan shook his head and laid Richard's head down on the pavement below and shut the deceased man's eyes, whispering "I'm sorry Rich…Watch over me, ok?" And that was when Kaidan stood up, Richard's blood coating his armor and took a deep breath.

"Let's keep going…Commander…" Kaidan said in a calm, eerie tone and with that, both Kaidan and Ashley walked away, leaving Shepard behind to stare at Richard one last time and merely nodded his head in respect before walking away.

Richard may have annoyed him at times but he was a true soldier and for that, he would make sure his body was returned to his family with full honors.

As the now three man squad drew closer to a platform where the tram lied, they saw a single Geth kneeling on the ground, tinkering with something only to lifts its head up to see them approaching…which was soon taken off its shoulders by Shepard with his sniper rifle.

Once the tram stopped, the three jogged over to the down Geth and saw that its body was covering something.

Moving its body with his foot, Shepard's eyes narrowed.

It was a bomb.

Luckily, it was unarmed due to his preemptive strike but he realized that Saren and the Geth were trying to destroy the place. He didn't know why but it didn't matter.

"Everyone! We need to keep moving. They're trying to blow this place up!" Kaidan and Ashley of them looked alarmed but Ashley was the first one to respond.

"Let's kick some asses!" Ashley shouted while pulling out her Shotgun

The three of them quickly trekked into the area with their guns drawn and their eyes open, crushing any opposition that came between them and their mission but as they moved forward, they managed to deactivate three more bombs until finally they were at the beacon where ten Geth and several husks remained.

"Ashley…" Shepard said with narrowed eyes.

Without a word spoken, Ashley pulled out her sniper rifle and kneeled down on one knee, aiming directly at the Geth trying to activate the bomb and with a single shot, the Geth was struck and it fell forward in front of the bomb, catching the attention of the surrounding Geth and Husks, which wailed and charged forward while the Geth armed their weapons and began to fire.

Shepard, and Kaidan ducked for cover and fired at the army of Geth and the husks, managing to down five of the Geth as well as two Husks in the barrage and that's when they ducked down to avoid getting hit.

When it sounded as if most of their weapons had overheated, Shepard shot a look at Kaidan before saying to Ashley "Provide cover fire," before he leapt over the railing and landed on the ground, his assault rifle immediately coming to life as he began spraying rounds of ammunition at his opponent, killing six Geth until it overheated and that's where he then pulled out his shotgun and took one shot, downing a Husk as he simultaneously dove for cover, just as they were beginning to fire.

"Damn, shields are down," He muttered to himself as the bullets slammed against the steel crate that was covering him.

Seeing his Commander in danger, Kaidan pulled out his pistol and leapt over the railing as well, landing into a roll where he shot a Geth point blank in the chest and as it fell, Kaidan took its pistol from his hands and rolled into cover where he then took aim and fired both pistols, killing three of them before tossing one to Shepard, who then rolled out of cover and killed another two Geth and a Husk that had gotten to close.

Not to be outdone, Ashley leapt over the railing as well and landed with a "thump" before running forward to one of the husks and slamming her elbow into it hard before killing two of them with two shotgun blasts and just as the first one was getting back on its feet from behind her.

Seeing A the last Husk coming towards her, Ashley ran forward slammed her shotgun at the last Husk's chest hard, sending it to the ground where she then stepped on its chest and fired at its head in point blank range, whispering "Forgive me."

Ashley took deep breaths as she stared at her kill before removing her right boot from its chest while saying, "I think that's all of them…" she then huffed and placed her shotgun on the back of her hip after giving it a slight pet before turning her head to the beacon, which was glowing an eerily green, much to her confusion.

"The beacon wasn't doing that when we dug it up…" She murmured to herself as Kaidan walked up behind her and touched her shoulder, making her jump slightly.

"Oh, sorry about that," He murmured softly before looking at the beacon and saying with awe in his voice "Whoa, a real Prothean Beacon right in front of our eyes…Richard would have loved to see this…"

Ashley looked at Kaidan and wanted to say something but she couldn't find the words so instead, she nodded and placed a comforting hand on his shoulders, silently offering him relief from losing his friend and silently, he nodded, knowing if anyone was feeling the same hollow feeling he was, it was the Gunnery Chief.

Shepard let out a deep breath of relief after making the call to Joker to pick them up along with the beacon, enjoying the feeling of success he had for completing the mission but it did have sacrifices.

As Shepard slowly walked towards his team, he noticed that Ashley was eying the beacon but suddenly, he saw her body suddenly jerk forward, accompanied by her shriek of surprise and her panicked expression as she turned back to look at the male of her squad for help which Kaidan immediately grabbed for her arm but the pull was too strong so with a yell of panic, Ashley slid out from Kaidan's grasp and flew towards the beacon.

Thinking quickly, Shepard rushed forward, swerving past Kaidan and grabbed her by her arms and flung her to Kaidan, who caught her successfully but then Shepard found his own body flying backwards and then forcefully turned around by the beacon and just as he got close enough, his body was being lifted up.

Panic filled his veins as he struggled for a moment to break free of the invisible grasp this thing had on him but that's when he saw it.

With an emerald border around the edges of his eyes, Shepard saw that himself lying on a platform soaked with blood, tears pouring from his eyes as he began to take his final breaths but then, a small, light blue ethereal child appeared standing before him.

_"This…This was quite the disappointment…"_ The being said while looking down at Shepard's form.

The Shepard watching was confused.

What the hell was he watching?

_"This simply won't do…You got this far only to fall…I wanted a better outcome…"_ It was then the being placed a hand on the dying Shepard's chest while saying _"I think I know what to do…"_

The watching Shepard's eyes widened in shock as he watched the dying Shepard's body began to glow a bright green before it began to break away into particles that floated in the air and that was when Shepard saw something that shocked him.

He saw these large…metal squid like ships firing red beams of energy at a ship that looked a lot like the Normandy before causing it to exploded in a brilliant explosion, causing fear to shoot through his body but then when saw the green particles fly towards him at top speed.

He watched as green balls of energy came shooting towards him and before he could do anything, the orbs of light slammed into his body, causing sharp visions to fill his mind in such rapid succession, he couldn't keep up with even if he tried and to make it worse, each vision that filled his mind made the headache he now worse than ever before until finally, the beacon exploded in front of him, sending him flying backwards to the ground with a crash.

But as he laid there, drifting into unconsciousness, Shepard heard the voice of that strange being in his head, saying _"I have given you a second chance…Let us see how far you get this time…"_

And with that, it all went black.

**_Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

* * *

Rain: And with that, my first chapter ends. Now this chapter was a combination of both First chapters of my first two Mass Effect fics but I decided to give Richard more time among the living and let himself be fleshed out more as a character before his time was up. We also got to see more emotions from Kaidan than we saw before and trust me, Richard's death will be an ongoing issue with Kaidan from this moment on. Now, what will happen once Shepard wakes up? Find out next time on….**_ Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

Jack: Fuckers better review this shit too…Or else…


	2. Chapter 2

Rain: Rain here and I want to thank everyone for reading, adding my story to their favorite's list and following my first chapter. I just hope you guys continue to enjoy it. Enjoy the show!

Jack: Review, Read and whatever the fuck is another R.

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

**_Chapter Two: Changes to the Past_**

_"Where…Where am I?"_

_Shepard found himself floating in a sea of dark blue crystal water with little balls of light floating up from it with the sky above him colored midnight blue with tons of stars glittering the sky above. _

_This confused him._

_The last thing he remembered was staring at the stars in the crucible while slowly bleeding out and now he was in this place. How the hell did this happen?_

_Shepard leaned up from the water and looked around. _

_The entire place looked honestly beautiful with the sky reflecting from the water with tiny rainbow colored crystal shards floating from the water and into the sky towards the glowing moon above._

_The ground was a bright white that reminded him of the snow that used to fall on his colony but when he touched it, he was surprised that it was grass._

_Grunting, Shepard stood up and looked at the area he was in and for a moment, he felt at peace but he felt saddened as well._

_He didn't belong here at all...It was too beautiful and pure for someone like him to see its beauty…_

_"But where is here?" Shepard asked himself with a saddened tone in his voice._

_"This is our meeting place…Commander Shepard…"_

_Hearing the familiar but echoing voice come from behind him, Shepard swiftly turned around to see an ethereal silhouette of someone he had longed to see but was long gone by now._

_"Tali?" Shepard whispered softly as he reached out to the figure but to his surprise he stumbled and was sent flying straight through here and onto the ground and when he turned around, he saw that she was entirely ethereal and glowing a soft light blue with small, white sparkling orbs floating around her. _

_Shepard was taken aback from seeing Tali after all this time but now; he quickly realized that this wasn't Tali at all. This was something else entirely but he didn't feel nervous around this…thing._

_"But why am I here?" He asked the silhouette softly while keeping his gaze on it. _

_"Because I wanted to see the one I believe in," The being said as they sat beside him. Shepard's gaze fell on the silhouette next to him but to his surprise, instead of the ethereal Tali, it was an ethereal version of Garrus that was standing next to him this time._

_"But who are you?" Shepard asked the being before him, his eyes narrowing in confusion. _

_The silhouette merely chuckled before its gaze turned from Shepard to the moon above, a gentle smile forming on its face. "The one who gave you this second chance at life…" The figure told him gently, shocking Shepard immensely._

_ Second life? _

_What was this being talking about?_

_ Did this figure have something to do about how he ended up here?_

_"You're truly an interesting figure Rock," The being said to him, causing Shepard to blink in surprise._

_How'd this person know his first name?!_

_"When we first heard of you from our spies within the universe, we honestly thought nothing of you. You were a simple human not knowing your place…But when you killed our fellow reaper Nazara, which is admittedly our more…Reckless of Vanguards, we grew notice of you and that only rose when we saw you defeated our pawns, The Collectors as your species named them and then you were brazen enough to halt our arrival for a season."_

_The being then let a wry grin form on its face as it said "Even when we arrived, your tenacity continued to infuriate us. Many of our pawns and even a few of our own were struck down by you and your team…But imagine my surprise when I see that our enemy, the one being that we had begun to see as an legitimate threat was slain by someone other than our hands. It bothered us greatly."_

_"So you brought me back to life just to kill me yourselves?" Shepard asked, completely confused by their logic. The indoctrinated Illusive man was of their doing and had supplied his death and Harbinger had started his downfall when he took a beam of energy from the Reaper nearly at point blank range._

_The being chuckled at this and said "I have been around for millennia, watching as countless organics and synthetics were harvested to create the beings known as "Reapers" to solve an issue long created by my creator. But as I watched you, or I should say, processed your memories, I have seen you rally both organic beings and Synthetic beings under the united banner of war to fight against us, something no one in several cycles has ever done. I was curious to see how it all would turn out once you arrived but your life was lost…"_

_Shepard looked away with a troubled expression but he then asked, after a moment of silence "Why? It's obvious that you lead the Reapers…Why would you bring back the one person who seeks to destroy them?"_

_The being was now an ethereal form of Thane Krios who merely chuckled and explained "I decided to return you to a different time, specifically when you was at a Beacon our recent harvested cycle, the "Protheans" your cycle called them because I believe you are the key to fully merging organics and synthetics together."_

_Shepard's head whipped towards the being, who was now shaped as an ethereal shadow of Ashley but its body glowing a bright white which slowly enveloped the area._

_"Do not mistake this as an act of kindness…The Reapers will arrive and they will harvest as they are supposed to do…Only this time, you know of all that will happen to this universe and its inhabitants…and you will be the answer to my question and maybe even the catalyst of our defeat."_

_"Wait! This universe?!" Shepard asked in alarm. _

_The being merely smirked at this, something that looked more on the ethereal form of Joker, the pilot of the Normandy, Mark 1 and 2. "Even a machine like myself cannot bend space and time. The best I could do is send you to a universe similar to your own but be prepared. There will be differences but the threat is all the same." _

_At this point, the entire area was bright with white light but somehow, Shepard could see the small smile that was on the being's face, which to his horror, was an ethereal version of his deceased mother, Hannah Shepard._

_"This will be the last time we speak until the arrival of the reapers….For what it is worth….I believe you can be the key that unlocks the answers I seek…Until we meet again, Rock Shepard…" _

_And everything went white._

* * *

**_The Normandy_**

Shepard's body rose up from the bed with a sharp gasp, his short black hair sticking to his face, covering the small jagged scar that split his left eyebrow down the middle, his hazel eyes small and unfocused, his breathing shallow and quick. Slowly, his closed his right eye as his left one became half lidded, his right hand flying to his head, sweat dripping down his face.

With a gasp, Shepard rose up from his bed, breathing heavily as sweat poured down his face.

_'W-Where am I?'_ Shepard asked himself as he looked around the room he was currently in.

The room was a platinum blue color with several beds lined up against the wall with tons of medical equipment lined up against the walls. Shaking his head, Shepard got up on his two feet, which felt a lot lighter to him for some strange reason. Ignoring the intense headache, Shepard walked towards the mirror in the med-bay and took a look at himself and gasped in shock.

What he expected was his glowing, scar filled face and a large scar that went down from the topside of his right forehead to the middle of his right cheek but instead, he saw the face of a pale Japanese-Caucasian male that still had a boyish charm to it despite his age of twenty-five years old.

Touching his face with his right hand, he pulled at his skin and to his surprise, no lines filled with flames appeared and as he looked at his eyes, it wasn't a glowing ominous red.

Instead it was an ocean blue and that startled him greatly.

He hadn't seen those eyes in such a long time and to see them now after so many years unnerved him.

Before he could truly figure out where he was, he heard someone very familiar shout "Doctor Chakwas! He's awake!"

His eyes flashed to the form of Ashley's Williams but then his eyes flashed to the head doctor of the Normandy, Karin Chakwas' form, his chest rising slowly and his eyes focusing on her form. The last time he saw her, she had been assimilated at the Collector's base along with everyone that was kidnapped by them.

She was alive!

Wildly, his eyes shot back to Ashley, who was staring at him in concern and it was then he realized that she was alive as well. The last he saw of her was when he himself shot her in cold blood to get to that backstabbing Cerberus dog, Udina.

Slowly, elation filled his veins as the realization began to set it.

The being was telling the truth.

Somehow, he had returned to the past.

"You had us worried Shepard. How are you feeling?" Chakwas asked with concern filling her voice, causing the stunned Shepard to glance at her.

"I'm not feeling so hot but I will live…How did I get here?" Shepard asked slowly.

Chakwas move towards Shepard with a worried frown on her face and said "You were out about Fifteen hours. Something happened down there to the Beacon I believe," Chakwas then started to prod at his face, which caused the commander to wince in annoyance due to the light in her hand blinding him.

Despite the shock and even joy of her being alive, Shepard really did not like a lot of people in his personal space but it was her job so he needed to let it go for now.

"It was my fault Commander," Ashley suddenly spoke up, her head lowered in shame, almost like a puppy who had been hit in the nose with a rolled up paper which caused him to look at her with a quirked brow. "I must've activated some security field when I touched it. You pushed me out of the way…You saved me…"

Shepard looked at her from the corner of his eyes and asked her "Where's the Beacon now? What happened to it?" before wincing when Chakwas shined a light into his other eye.

"The Beacon exploded…" Ashley answered. "A system overload maybe. The blast knocked you out cold. We all thought you would be out for a few days from the way you landed but looks like I was wrong…" She then looked back down to the ground, remembering how he was during the mission.

But just as Shepard was about to speak, Chakwas interrupted with "Williams and Alenko carried you back to the ship." Shepard's eyes gazed upon Ashley's form and gave a nod of gratitude along with a small smile, making her look down at the ground with a faint blush dusting her cheeks.

"So…" Shepard started while looking to the doctor. "Did you find anything wrong?"

"Physically, you're fine," Chakwas started while crossing her arms beneath her breast before she continued with "But while you were resting, I detected some strange brain activity. Abnormal data waves. I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement. Science usually associates it with intense dreaming. I also detected that your heart rate had increased to terrifying levels…Shepard…What did you see in your dream?"

The dream Shepard had immediately formed into his head and he paused.

He had a strong feeling that no one would believe his dream about coming back to the past but at the same time, he knew Chakwas would not let it go unless she got what she wanted so he had to do something.

Then that's when it hit him.

This is the past…So why shouldn't he start it out that way?

Shepard's eyes gazed down at the ground as his headache slowly returned. "I don't know…What I saw…" He answered slowly, making sure to make his voice as confused as possible then he continued with "I-I…Saw death…Destruction…The end of all life…but nothing's really clear though…" He finished lamely while looking at the ground in thought.

_'That should give her enough to keep her off my back,'_ Shepard thought as he brushed back his rather long jet black hair back and stared at Chakwas with as much innocence as he could.

Chakwas raised her left eyebrow at him in suspicion but he then added "Don't worry about it, I'll be ok. Maybe a little rest was what I needed."

"Hm, regardless of that Shepard, I may have to add all of this to my report before I hand it to Captain Anderson then study you some mo-" Suddenly, the doors to the med-bay opened.

And a few moments later, Captain Anderson, with an air of authority, briskly walked inside of the med-bay with his hands connected behind his back, ignoring Ashley's presence for the time being, immediately asking Chakwas "How's our XO holding out down here?"

"He's doing fine. His readings are normal. I think the Commander will be fine," She answered her Captain with a small smile, causing him to smile as well.

"I'm glad to hear it. Thank you Doctor…Now Shepard…" His eyes flashed to Shepard's sitting down, a concerned look flashing across his eyes for a moment before changing to a cold look. "Can we speak…In private?"

Taking the hint, both Chakwas and Ashley left the room with the latter saying "Aye, Captain. I'll be in the mess hall if you need me," as well as giving him a salute, leaving the two males alone in the med-bay.

"Sounds like that Beacon hit you pretty hard Commander. Are you sure you're alright?"

As Shepard looked at the Captain, a vision of Anderson in a camouflage uniform sitting by his side, bleeding from the left side of his torso, a small gentle smile on his face as he passed away.

Shepard could only stare at the man before in surprise but then he stood up and gave him something that he had never given the man before.

A salute.

From the surprised look on the older man's face, Shepard knew the good captain was shocked to receive one but Shepard did not care. He was going to change things this time around and the first thing he was going to change was to not let this man die again.

"I'm doing ok Captain…A little banged up and disoriented but I will be ok," Shepard said with a small chuckle as he stopped his salute.

"That is good commander. I'm glad to hear that everything is alright but I am surprised. You'd usually question me if another crew member was added on our ship."

Shepard blinked at Anderson's words then he remembered Ashley.

When she appeared on the Normandy in his timeline, he was annoyed as hell due to her pissing him off during the mission on Eden Prime but now, after knowing what a skilled solider she was, he wouldn't dare question it but just to keep Anderson from suspecting anything, Shepard did say "I just realized that Gunnery Chief Williams is onboard the Normandy sir…"

Anderson chuckled at this while he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I figured we could use a soldier like her so I reassigned her to the Normandy. Is this a problem Shepard?"

Shepard shook his head while saying "Not at all, I saw what the Gunnery Chief could do back on Eden Prime and despite not showing it, I was impressed by her actions. She kept fighting strong, despite losing her entire squad to the Geth…Williams is a good solider. She deserves being aligned with the most powerful ship in the Alliance,"

"Lieutenant Alenko agrees with you which is why I added her to our crew..." Anderson said with a nod and a small smile which then faded away when Shepard said "Intel really dropped the ball on this one. We had no idea what was to happen down there."

Anderson turned his head to Shepard and told him "The Geth hasn't been outside the Veil for two centuries Shepard. No one could have predicted this but I won't lie to you Shepard. Things look bad. With Nihlus dead and the Beacon destroyed and the Geth have appeared outside the veil and are invading, the council is going to want answers..."

"Why should we tell them?" Shepard asked with a small scowl on his face.

"Knowing how they operate, They'll obviously think the mission failed due to the Alliance's incompetence instead of the faulty Intel that screwed us over and sent us to hell in back. I didn't do anything wrong," Shepard had never liked dealing with the council.

To him, they were a bunch of stuck people politicians that believed that just because they were in power, they could look down on everyone else, especially if they weren't the same species as them. Shepard believed in treating everyone fairly, even if it meant hating everyone equally and he didn't realize it until now that he would have to deal with their shit again!

Damn it!

"I'll stand behind you and your report Shepard. Despite Nihlus' death and the destroyed Beacon, You did good Shepard. You got your team out of there safe and sound as well as saving a few survivors...You're a damned hero in my books. I'm proud of you."

Shepard gave him a light smile that quite didn't reach his eyes as he responded with "Thank you sir but I didn't get all of them out alive…" He did remember from the Shepard he had cruelly took over that Jenkins had perished but what surprised him was by how far they were when he was killed and he had to admit, Jenkins was a very competent soldier and he knew he would be just as missed on this Normandy like the last.

Especially by Kaidan.

But it was sad that despite coming back, he still didn't get the chance to save the good soldier.

"I know Commander, Private Jenkins was a good man and a good solider. We have given his body to his family, who luckily survived the attack on Eden Prime and he will be getting a heroes' send off for his services," Anderson said while placing a hand on his shoulder, causing Shepard to nod absent-mindedly.

"Good…He truly deserved it but…Do we truly need to report to the Council about this?" Shepard asked, getting back to the main subject at hand.

Anderson nodded softly and said "I know you do not like the Council Shepard but they must know what's happened on Eden Prime, especially if Saren is responsible for all of this."

Shepard let a grunt and leaned back on the bed he was sitting on. "Saren...That's the name of that Turian that man had mentioned before he died. Who is he?" Shepard asked, staring at Anderson for an explanation.

"Saren is a Spectre. One of the best, a living legend but if he is truly working with the Geth, then that means he's gone rouge and a rouge Spectre is more dangerous than anything in the galaxy and what's worse is that he hates humans."

"Why?" Shepard asked, despite knowing his enemy very well.

"He thinks we're growing too fast, taking over the galaxy. A lot of aliens think that way but most don't do anything about it but Saren might be working with the Geth. I don't know how or why but I have a feeling that it was all because of that Beacon...Tell me Shepard, you were there before the Beacon was destroyed. Did you see anything? Anything at all?"

Shepard closed his eyes and thought about the visions that he had seen from the Beacon and then relayed them to the Captain who nodded his head as he listened and when he was done, Anderson let a soft sigh leave his lips and said "We need to report this to the Council Shepard..."

"And tell them what? I had a nightmare? Do you really think they would believe that?" Shepard asked.

"I don't know but whatever was in that Beacon, Saren took it. I know him Shepard; I know his reputation and his politics. He believes humans are a curse on the galaxy. This attack was an act of war. He has the secrets of the Beacon and an army of Geth under his command and he will not stop until he wipes every last human off the face of the galaxy."

"Then we need to find him and take him down for good," Shepard said with determination in his eyes which he knew from his past that would be snuffed out after his captain's next words.

"It's not that easy," Anderson told him. "Saren is a Spectre. He can go anywhere, almost do anything and with that's why we need the council on our side Shepard. I know you don't like it but it's the only way..."

"I know Captain..." Shepard replied faintly, clenching his fists. "I doubt they will help us because if Saren is a legend as you say, then they will try to back him up but it's the only option we have at the moment." And as much as he knew about Saren's guilt, he knew first hand that they would need proof of this.

Then a small smile formed on his face.

They would have the proof and he knew exactly who had it.

Anderson nodded at this and uncrossed his arms before saying "Good. I will contact Ambassador Udina to see if we can get an Audience with the Council. He'll probably want to meet with us the moment we land. We should be getting close. Head to the bride and tell Joker to get ready to bring us into dock."

Shepard gave the man another salute and watched him walk off but the moment he did, A marine Shepard didn't recognize marched up to him and said "Commander Shepard! You have someone wishing to speak to you!"

Shepard was confused and he voiced that confusion, asking "Who?"

The man blinked and said "Why your sister, Jasmine Shepard, Captain of the Titan sir!"

A sister.

Shepard had a sister…

In his universe, he knew for a fact his parents had died during his youth.

Hell, he even saw those damn Batarians bastards rip them apart so how were they alive?

"Uh…Sir?" The young Marine questioned. "Should I tell her you're busy?"

Shepard shook his head with a small frown then replied "No need. I will see to what my…_sister_ needs…" It was even stranger to say those words. Taking a small breath, Shepard asked for the marine to lead him to the phone and with a crisp salute, Shepard was lead to a large screen in the meeting room and there he could see her.

She had long black hair with a streak of dark blue in her hair, pale skin with three freckles on both cheeks, blue eyes that were brighter than the sky on earth and finally, she had on a black tank-top with the kanji for "Hero of the Blitz" on her shirt colored in white. He watched as her smile widened happily as she said _"Well look who finally shows his face. My little brother Rocky."_

Shepard narrowed his eyes.

He did not like that nickname.

"Don't call me that," Shepard told her with a cross of his arms, causing a laugh to leave her lips, eyes shining playfully.

_"Always the same reply when you say that to me,"_ She said while leaning back in her chair, lifting up a soda bottle to drink it. _"But it is good to see you little brother. It's been a few weeks since we last spoke, how was Eden Prime?"_

Shepard paused.

Was he and his sister close because he knew from past experience that he would never talk to anyone about his mission that wasn't his commanding officer but he decided that he would open up just bit, knowing this small step would start his change into a better man. "Lost a squad mate but gained a new one in his place."

There, that should be enough information to keep her curiosity sated at this moment.

Lucky for him, it was because she said _"Well, shit like that happens…Like right now, I'm down here in Omega trying to find some Cerberus assholes and some holes in the alliance. So far, I lost two good men to them but I refuse to lose anymore."_

"I certainly hope you get them Jasmine," He replied after staying silent for a moment.

He should be worried that Miranda or Jacob is in her sights due to getting to know the two of them quite well during his time teaming up with Cerberus but at the same time, remembering the carnage they would later make when the Reapers arrive, he hoped she killed many of them.

He just had to hope Miranda or Jacob wouldn't get killed.

"But right now, we're heading towards the Citadel to report back to the council about my mission and truth be told, I'm not exactly thrilled…" Shepard told her, trying to hide the irritation from her but from the smirk on her face, he could tell she knew how annoyed he would be and he had good reason for that.

The council had always been against him since he accused then proved to them that Saren was a traitor and it only got worse from there and it pissed him off enough that when he had the chance to kill them, he practically had to stop himself from killing them but that didn't matter, did it? They still treated him like a sub-species.

It wasn't until the Reapers came and slaughter their races when they realized he was right all along but to go through all of that again was truly testing his patience. _"Hey Rocky…It'll be fine. Just try to get through it as best as you can and please…Don't do what you did to Barrett…They don't deserve that."_

Shepard blinked.

What the hell was she talking about?

Before he could ask, he watched as she suddenly said _"Now listen up, I have to go and suit up for my mission. When I'm done, I'll go straight there so we can meet up at the Citadel and drink a bit."_

Shepard merely smiled and nodded, sort of looking forward to knowing the woman who was suddenly pushed into the role of "sister". "I can't wait, Until then…" Shepard said before giving the captain of the Titan a salute, causing her to give a lazy one back before winking and with that, the screen clicked off.

So…So far so good.

He hopefully left a good impression on his sister and when they met, hopefully he could find out more about his past…But it is truly odd that he now has a sister but he was warned that this universe was different than his own but this was a major difference.

What's next?

Ashley being raised by Quarians?

_"We're approaching the mass relay heading towards Citadel Space. ETA, five minutes so everyone, please place your trays in the upright position, buckle those seatbelts and brace for instant travel. If not, please puke in the bathroom. I don't want to smell that from up here,"_ Joker's voice rang out over the intercom.

Shepard had closed his eyes to keep himself from rolling them due to Joker's words but merely chuckled and looked out the window as he neared the mass relay, he realized something.

He would be meeting his best friend and the love of his life when he arrived there as well.

And that thought truly made him smile.

* * *

**_Council meeting chambers_**

**_The Citadel _**

"Well that turned out well…." Ashley murmured in annoyance as she and Kaidan followed their silent commander down the steps of the Presidium, the three marines' faces looking a little glum while Shepard's jaw was clenched and his hands balled into a tight fist.

Things were…Strange this time around.

The meeting had gone about the same as last time and like last time, two of the three councilmen were assholes like Shepard knew they were but it was the Asari Councilwoman that confused him.

In his time, she followed behind her councilmen without a second thought but in this time period, she seemed believe them and it was her that asked for the evidence to prove Saren's guilt.

"I know Ash, it's like they thought this was some joke. It isn't right," Kaidan added with a sigh.

"It was like they were protecting that asshole," Ashley murmured angrily while punching into her open palm.

"Maybe if that dock worker on Eden prime had survived, that would have made our case against Saren a little stronger…" Kaidan commented with his left arm propped on his right, his left fist resting on his chin in thought.

"Not really," Shepard responded almost immediately, stopping in his tracks, making his squad do the same.

"Even if he lived, I'm sure the council would've disregarded his statements as well. Let's face it, Saren is their top Spectre and has his own race on the citadel...Who's backing him up and until we find some hard evidence of Saren's involvement with that damn massacre on Prime, He could no doubt walk away and continue his plans…"

And Shepard meant this.

The last time he encountered this; the dock worker had lived and was immediately discredited as a witness due to him being shaken with fear.

"Well, ain't that a kick in the balls," Ashley commented with a wry smirk on her face, her hands planted on her hips before asking "Well, what do we do now?" before anyone could answer that, they were joined by Udina and Anderson, both wearing a scowl on their face.

"It was a mistake bringing you into that hearing Captain. You two have too much history. It made the council question our motives," Udina spoke with barely hidden contempt, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"I know Saren," Anderson responded defensively with a pensive look on his face. "He's working with the Geth for one reason, to exterminate the human race. Every colony is at risk. Every world we control is in danger, even earth isn't safe," he said with fire in his voice.

"Permission to speak freely, Sir?" Kaidan asked with a quick salute to Anderson, who nodded in return. "How is it that you know Saren?"

Anderson sighed at Kaidan's question and merely responded with "I worked with him on a mission a long time ago. Things went bad...Real bad..." Shepard, who was listening in silence, knew there was more to this story but it wasn't his concern.

He had heard it all before.

No sense in listening to rehashed situations.

Instead, he put his thoughts to good use by thinking about what was going to happen next. He knew that Anderson and Udina would send them to Chora's den but would things play out the same as they did in his universe? He could only hope at this point because it would give him a better chance to change things but if things were too different, how could he change it to the outcome he found desirable?

"But I know that he's dangerous...And that he needs to be stopped before it's too late," Shepard zoned back in just as Anderson finished his speech and gave a small sigh. He wasn't going to get any answers waiting here. He needed some peace and quiet to think about his plan of actions and this wasn't the time nor the place.

"Well isn't this lovely..." Ashley muttered with annoyance before speaking up with "Well, what do we do now?"

"Due to his Spectre status, Saren's pretty much untouchable right now. We need to find a way a way to expose him but how? That is the issue we are all facing."

Suddenly, Shepard's head had snapped up with an idea in his head. He knew exactly the person they needed at the moment and with a small grin on his face, he said "What about that C-sec officer? Garrus Vakarian I believe. I briefly remember when we were coming here that he was talking to the Executor about his case on Saren. He may have been close to finding something out about him."

"Hm...Then he's our best bet right now but how can we find him?" Kaidan asked with a scratch of his head.

"I believe I know just the source," Udina replied with an all knowing smirk on his old, worn face.

Anderson must have known who the Councilor was referring to because he let out an annoyed grunt and said "You mean Harkin, don't you? Don't bother; he's a sorry excuse of a C-sec officer who got caught drinking on the job. I wouldn't waste my time on that loser."

"That's good because I don't need you for this," Udina replied with a turn to the captain's direction, causing Shepard and his team to frown at this.

"Don't take this personally Captain Anderson but I don't need the Council to use your past history with Saren as an excuse to ignore any information we could wind finding. Shepard and his team will handle this."

"Hey hold on, this is the Captain's case just as much as ours," Kaidan said, stepping forward towards Udina with a frown on his face.

"Yeah, you have no right to just cut him out of this case," Ashley added while she turned her head towards Udina's direction with a piercing look causing Udina to take a step back in slight panic.

Anderson let a small smile appear on his face with a small hint of pride in his team's loyalty to him but he raised both of his hands in surrender, saying "Back down team. He's right. I need to step aside…" With that being said, the three marines nodded with Kaidan falling back in line behind Shepard and next to Ashley.

"Thank you for calling your hounds back Captain," Udina said with a faint quiver in his voice, completely unaware that the marines grew angrier at the fact he called them "Hounds" but the man merely cleared his throat and continued on with "Harkin's probably getting drunk at Chora's den, a dinky, dingy little club located down in the lower parts of the wards. Just be careful, I wouldn't call him reliable."

"Five credit chits that he's some sleaze ball," Ashley whispered to Kaidan and Shepard, causing the two men to chuckle before Udina began to talk again.

"Good. Now you four best be on it. I and Anderson have some business to discuss in my office, Come by when you find something." And with that, the two walked off, leaving the three man squad alone.

"Well team...We have our mission. Let's get to it," Shepard said after a moment of silence, causing the team to reply with a nod.

* * *

_**The Citadel**_

**_Chora's Den_**

If anyone were to ask Shepard, The atmosphere of Chora's den was disgusting to him.

The place was dark with multicolored lights shining all over the place with fog covering the ground, the smell of the place reeked with cigar smoke and there were stripper poles in many areas of the place with the mix of human women and Asari, wearing some spandex that left nothing to imagination dancing around them or some just dancing on bare tables.

In all honesty, Shepard could not remember where Garrus was during this time due to him going to C-sec to get Wrex first after an agent for the Shadow Broker had helped locate the Krogan and wound up finding Garrus elsewhere after getting Wrex to help so he was out of his element.

"Wow...I don't know whether this is funny or just plain sad," Ashley exclaimed quietly to her two fellow marines.

"Hm? what'cha talking about Ash?" Kaidan asked as he raised his eyebrow in curiosity.

"Well, we're millions of light years away from earth, standing in the most "prestigious" place in the known universe and here we are, standing in a strip club, watching strippers shaking their asses in front of their male clients...And here I thought we had evolved."

Shepard had to smirk at Ashley's words but didn't respond to them. Instead, his eyes spotted a familiar hulking red armored Krogan coming near them and that's when a whisper of a name floated into his head.

_'Wrex...'_

If there was one thing Shepard was really guilty about was how he did the Krogan. He forced Wrex to kill off any chance of getting the genophage on Virmire then outright crushed the dreams of a cure when he killed Mordin and sabotaged the cure himself to get the help of the Salarians during the early part of the war.

Wrex found out of his betrayal and confronted him about it and Shepard outright lied to him then didn't hesitate to kill him when things weren't going his way.

All Wrex had ever done was help him on his hunt for Saren and even opened his home to Shepard and what did he do to repay him? The worse thing he could ever do to him…

_"It'll be different this time….I need it to be different…"_ Shepard whispered beneath his breath, not aware that Ashley had overheard his words and stared at him in confusion.

"Get out of my way humans; I have no quarrel with you," The krogan told them with his voice low and heavy voice, walking past them without sparing them a glance.

"What was that about?" Ashley asked.

"Who knows," Kaidan responded. "All I know is that he didn't sound too happy."

"Does any Krogan?" Ashley asked in jest.

Hearing her words, Kaidan simply grinned at this and said in a humoring tone "Well, it depends if you can tell the right jokes. I hear they love Turian and Salarian ones most of all."

As Shepard listened to his team's little banter, he found himself smiling a little, liking the interaction his team was having with each other but he had to cut it short by saying "Now, we're burning time here team, let's find this Harkin so we can continue on with this mission. "

The two marines nodded and split up to find the man. Lucky for Shepard, he managed to find Harkin quickly, who immediately began talking when he got closer to the table.

"Alliance military huh? I could'a been a military man myself but instead I decided to join C-sec. shittiest mistake I ever made."

"I take it you're Harkin," Shepard responded with a dry tone. If there was one thing he didn't regret during his time in his universe was Garrus killing him during his search for the traitorous Sidonis. Harkin was one of the most lowlife men he had ever met…Next to the Illusive man himself of course.

Harkin merely grinned at this and offered the seat across the table to him but Shepard continued to stand and stare at the balding man. Finally, Harkin responded with "That's my name. What do you want Marine?"

"I'm looking for a C-sec officer named Garrus Vakarian and I heard you might know where he is," Shepard explained to the man, who began to laugh boisterously.

"Garrus huh? That means you must be one of Anderson's boys. Poor bastard still trying to bring Saren down, eh?" Harkin said with a amused laugh, causing Shepard to shut his eyes in annoyance at the braying coming from this man's mouth.

"Look, do you know where Vakarian is or not?" Shepard asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice. He already knew that Harkin knew the good Captain but he really didn't care. All he wanted to know where his target was before they lost their shot at finding him.

"Yeah, I know where he is," Harkin replied but then he smirked "But answer me this, did the Captain let you in on his dirty little secret?"

Shepard merely stared a bit more before saying "I really don't see what Anderson has to do with this and let's be honest, I don't even care so give me Valkarien's location..." Shepard said with aggression shining in his voice, preparing himself to take action if Harkin didn't supply him with the information.

"Oh but it's all related don't you see? The famous Captain Anderson used to-" Before Harkin could continue, a he found a gun inches away from his face.

"Enough...Give me Valkarien's location or you can tell your little tale to the wall with your blood," Shepard said dangerously, cocking his gun for extra incentive. Normally, he wouldn't resort to tactics like this at all but this man had been witling down any patience he had for the peaceful route.

He was lucky Harkin was located at the back of the club in the darkest corner. Otherwise, the bouncers could have seen him and kicked him out before he got the Intel which would have been bad for everyone involved. "A-alright! I'll tell you!" Harkin squeezed out in fear.

"Good answer. Now where is he?" Shepard demanded with his eyes narrowed.

"L-Last I heard, Garrus was seen snooping around Doctor Michelle's office. She runs the med clinic up in the wards! Now let me go!" Shepard nodded and quickly returned his gun to its rightful place before a wry grin formed on his face.

"Thank you for the information Harkin...Have a nice day," With that, Shepard quickly walked away from the sleazy officer and left the club, his squad mates quickly following him when they saw him leave.

"So I'm guessing you found Harkin?" Ashley asked after catching up with Shepard.

"Yeah…" Shepard replied before a very faint grin appeared on his face when he remembered what Ashley had said earlier. "The guy was a real sleaze ball."

Ashley merely smirked.

"Well someone better pick the phone because I fucking called it!"

* * *

Rain: And that is the end of the second chapter. Now this introduced a huge change from Shepard's timeline and that is his sister and she will be someone that throws some of his missions into the unknown. Also, this chapter, Shepard decided to hide his future adventures and decided to change it as quietly as possible or get it to work in his favor.

I also decided to have the Asari Councilwoman be more understanding of Shepard but how will she help him in the future? You will certaintly see. So until the next chapter...

Mario: See you next time.


	3. Chapter 3

Rain: Hello all! Thanks for the kind reviews. This chapter will have Shepard finding Tali among other things so I want you guys to sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

Jack: And don't forget to review this time you fucking bastards!

Garrus: That is not nice Jack

Jack: Fuck off, bite me and then die Garrus! I don't do nice

Rain: *sighs*

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

**_Chapter Three: A Quarian and Feros_**

**_Doctor's Office_**

"You know something Commander…I'm starting to think going into these hostile environments will become something of an occurrence with us."

Shepard couldn't help but let a smirk appear on his face from Ashley's words as he slide against the wall in the red light covered alleyway, barely avoiding a stray bullet that was aimed at his head.

A few minutes ago, The three man squad had descended down the wards to Doctor Michelle's office where they had found her being held Hostage by a group of men in a standoff with the very turian they had been looking for.

The moment Shepard drew his gun and killed the man holding the good doctor, an all-out firefight ensued but luckily, Garrus had grabbed the doctor and tossed her into cover as Shepard and his gang dealt a swift but bloody death to them.

Thankful for her life, Doctor Michelle given them the information that she had recently patched up a young Quarian girl who had been shot a few days prior.

The minute Shepard had heard that, a fleeting voice had invaded his mind as well as a vision of a Quarian girl standing in front of him, her arms wrapped around his waist, her head tucked underneath his chin.

_"Wherever you go Shepard…I will always follow…"_

Shepard let his hands had ball up into a fist, a scowl firmly implanted on his face and his eyes narrowing viciously, not that anyone could tell. "We need to get to Fist…But we will need some help…I know of a certain alien that also has an issue with the good warlord…"

"The Krogan?" Ashley asked, immediately thinking of the large behemoth immediately.

Shepard's eyes narrowed with a rather savage smirk on his face.

"Of course…The Krogan has and old saying…"

* * *

**_C-Sec Headquaters_**

**_Twenty minutes later_**

"…Seek the enemy of my enemy, and you will find a friend. It is not a saying I normally follow but Fist has been a knife in my side since I got here," Wrex said with a rather savage smirk.

"So will you join us?" Shepard asked, his hand extended towards the large alien.

Wrex snorted and clasped hands with Shepard and responded with a sarcastic tone "I didn't bring up an old proverb just to say no, now did I?" Shepard snorted at the Krogan's smart ass response but it couldn't stop a smile from threatening to spill from his face.

He had managed to get Wrex to join him once again but this time, he will make sure the warrior's trust was not broken. Once the group left C-sec, the found Garrus waiting for them near Chora's Den but it was then Shepard remembered something and it caused his blood to boil.

He remembered that while they had been dealing with Fist, Tali had nearly been killed by his men and they arrived in the knick of time.

He did not want that close of a call, especially now that he knew that this universe had a lot of differences to his own but as he had looked at the door that held a large empty room where Chora's den was located next to which would lead him to Tali's meeting spot, he was now at a crossroads.

He had to get there but once again, he needed to make sure that he was subtle about it so as soon as Wrex finished his speech about killing Fist, Shepard turned to Garrus and asked "Tell me Garrus. Where is the best spot on the Citadel that shady people can have meetings?"

He watched as Garrus paused, his head tilted in thought before saying "There's an alleyway behind the markets down in the wards known as "The Bloody Road". It's kind of a popular place due to the lights as well as various criminal activities such as drug distribution, underworld meetings, prostitution, slave trading and murder so we have to check on that place often. Why do you ask Commander?"

"Think about it…A scared Quarian looking for a safe haven at the citadel with Information about the Geth that could prove Saren's guilt then being wounded under mysterious circumstances? Something's afoot with this picture and that area would be the second best place to start due to its status as an underworld meeting place, with Fist being the first since the Quarian needed to set up said meeting in the first place…"

"I think we have where our mystery guest is…But now that we know that, what are we going to do?" Ashley replied, realizing where Shepard was coming from with the others following suit moments later. Shepard didn't let a smirk appear on his face due to the seriousness of the mission but he then split up the teams.

"Simple, we'll split up. Ashley, you Kaidan and Wrex go into Fist's place while Garrus and I go to the infamous alleyway," Shepard commanded while Garrus stood next to him.

"Alright Shepard but we do we do with Fist? You know he might have people backing him up?" Ashley asked with Wrex and Kaidan turning to Shepard, one of them waiting for an answer while one knew the answer already due to his agreement with the said offended Shadow Broker.

Shepard merely looked at the three and replied with a cold tone in filling his voice "Do what you do best..."

"How can you say that Commander? True, Fist wasn't a saint but he didn't deserve to die, did he?"

Another thing that surprised him.

In his timeline, Kaidan would obey an order without a blink of an eye but here, he is outright questioning him…How funny….But regardless, if there was one thing that would never change is that as long as he's breathing and in charge, his orders are law and no one was going to change that and it was time this Kaidan knew that.

Shepard turned to the angered Kaidan then narrowed his eyes at the man as he said "Look, Fist has racked up enough sins to fill two lives. Right now, he may be the reason we lose our only key to what Saren is doing because whatever his goal is, the fate of millions across the galaxy are in danger and at this moment, we are the only ones that can stop it."

Shepard's eyes then stared directly at Kaidan's as he said "And if we need to kill a few worthless criminals like Fist in order to save everything we care for then so be it. Now, if you have an issue with his Alenko, You can be assigned to a new ship…"

The two men stared at each other for a long time but Kaidan lowered his eyes with a resigned sigh leaving his lips as he said "I understand…Commander but what now?"

"Simple…Do what you do best," Shepard responded before he and the Turian walked away from the group and towards the door that would possibly lead them to Tali.

* * *

**_Bloody Road Alleyway_**

**_Commander Shepard and Garrus_**

Garrus had led Shepard to the meeting spot but just as the three entered the alleyway only for them to quickly move back out when they spotted a dozen armed men standing in the alleyway, weapons in hand but thankfully, there was no Quarian in sight...Yet.

"It seems you were right after all Commander, They were setting a trap for the Quarian…Amazing gut instinct…" Garrus had murmured under his breath with a tone of approval, pulling out his weapon after seeing Shepard arming himself.

Shepard sneered darkly as he pulled out his assault rifle and responded with "A trap that needs to be dealt with…swiftly…." Shepard's eyes then narrowed dangerously and without any time wasted, the three moved out of their cover and began to fire their weapons.

A few of their rounds managed to strike the shields of the armed men, which all of them turned around and fired back, causing the three trained men to retreat behind the wall.

With a nod, Shepard tossed out a smoke grenade into the alleyway and waited for it to explode and once it did, Shepard slid from his position and walked into the smoke with Garrus walking in behind him, both of their weapons ready to unleash hell on the next person they see and moments later, a salarian in white armor was running out from the mist with his gun trained on Shepard's back.

Smirking, Shepard suddenly turned to his left and rammed his fist against the helmet of a salarian, knocking the salarian back into the wall where Shepard swiftly pulled out his pistol and fired one clean, point blank shot before turning to his comrade and saying "I don't want to injure the Quarian if she stumbles upon this mist so disarm them and deal out their just rewards for firing upon us."

Garrus couldn't help but shiver at the way the kill took place.

He was trained to dispatch his enemies when in a firefight but never in a upfront, cold manner that Shepard had just displayed and not just that, the way he gave the orders without so much batting an eye about killing someone like that was unsettling the marine but he had to put the sudden harshness of Shepard's mood aside to get the mission done but he didn't think he had it in him to be so…Merciless.

But shaking that off, Garrus knew what it meant to do anything to get the job done even if the way it was done was deemed unjust to some people so he would let this man set the orders and he would follow.

Suddenly, the sound of gunfire filled their ears and the their shields suddenly flared to life and with an unified scowl, the three men dispersed and while Garrus dove for cover, Shepard leapt over a different crate while throwing an grenade at the thugs shooting at them before landing on the ground back first.

The two heard the thugs scrambling to get from behind the crates but a loud explosion ensued and through the red smoke, the two watched as five men came flying from the smoke and while two fell to the ground and slide between Shepard's and Garrus' crates and while three of them slammed against the wall behind him, accompanied by a sickening crunch made from the hard impact.

Shepard looked at the fallen men next to him as well as behind him and scoffed at their defeat before leaping over his crate to shoot the remaining fighting enemies with his assault rifle, taking a few down effortlessly while Garrus fired his pistol at the fleeing men heading up the alleyway stairs, making them stagger for a moment before falling forwards on the stairs.

But as he did this, one of the salarians that was sent flying by the grenade earlier was slowly coming to and saw Shepard standing on the crate with his gun firing repeated rounds, taking out his fleeing teammates.

Angered by this, the salarian reached out his shotgun that he had dropped due to his unplanned flight and slumped back against the wall and slowly aimed it at Shepard's back.

Garrus, who had taken his eyes off of the stairwell for the moment saw the salarian aiming at Shepard's back and with a twitch of his mouth, he fired at the salarian repeatedly, watching in grim satisfaction as the body jerked with each impending shot until the salarian dropped his weapon and slumped forward, his final breath leaving his body.

Shepard turned around, hearing the shots behind him and saw the dead salarian then turned to see Garrus' gun still hot from the shots fired from it and he let a faint small form on his face.

"One less to worry about," Garrus said while holstering his gun.

"Thanks, I nearly got my ass blown off there," Shepard said with a relieved grin on his face while Garrus chuckled and walked up to the human with a grin of his own on his face.

"Well, I always seem to be in the right place at the right time. Just don't expect me to be that damn good all the time" Garrus smoothly replied while sitting down on the crate behind him, causing the laughing Shepard to do the same.

Shepard couldn't help but notice something about the Turian sitting by his side.

When the two of them first met, Garrus was by the book but during their adventures, Garrus had loosened up greatly but in this time, Garrus seemed to be more relaxed and it made him curious but as he opened his mouth to say something, another voice had spoken up with shock.

_"Keelah…"_

When Shepard heard that one word echo down the now bloody alleyway, his body became rigid, his eyes became unfocused, his heart began to dance against his chest and his breathing slowed to a stop as his eyes slowly looked up to see the owner of that voice.

He…He had heard that voice…So many times since that cruel mission that he had somehow found peace with them but to now know that the owner of that voice was standing at the stairwell behind him. Shepard took a shaky breath while his eyes clouded over, her words that he had heard during his mission to stop the collectors began to flow into his head like a whisper

_"I want to feel your skin against mine."_

**_"I've watched you for so long…"_**

_"I can stay behind…"_

_"I'm standing right here"_

_"I've never shown my face to anyone…"_

_ "Where ever you go…I will follow."_

_"I want more time…"_

As her voice came pouring into his head like gentle raindrops back on earth, Shepard finally took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down and get his thoughts in order so he could introduce himself to the scared woman but with each step he took, her whispered like words began to get louder.

_ "I have a shotgun"_

_"Are you still interested?"_

_"Spiders!"_

_"But I want to show you…Without dying of course."_

**_"But I never imagined that you would ever…"_**

_"I have a home..."_

_"..And I'm babbling like an idiot."_

**_"See past…"_**

_"Come back to me…"_

_"Keelah se'lai"_

**_"…This."_**

The moment he was fully standing before her, Shepard just wanted to scoop her up into his arms and never let go of her but as he stood before her, staring into those familiar, beautiful silvery eyes that were looking at him in confusion, it seemed to trigger one more sentence within his head but unlike the others that made him feel as if he was in a dream, this was a cold dose of reality of his actions in his own timeline.

**_ "….I loved you…"_**

Hearing those three words in that tone that rang out his betrayal of her, the guilt immediately consumed him as her death replayed in his head and slowly, he could feel something welling up in his eyes.

Was it tears?

Taking a another deep breath to quell the dark emotions that were going to swallow him whole, a smoothed voice Shepard asked "Hello Miss, are you the quarian that Dr. Michelle treated a little while ago?"

"Yes, t-that's me…Who are you? W-What happened here?" She asked with a light nervous stutter which caused Shepard to hold back on a small laugh. He found that to be laugh to be very endearing to him.

He missed it…More than he thought he did because for a moment, he forgot to speak but luckily, he found his voice once more and continued on with what he had to say.

"I'm Commander Shepard of the Normandy. Behind me is C-Sec officer Garrus Vakarian and we are here to talk to you about something," He responded, introducing the Turian behind him with a point, causing Garrus to merely nod at her direction.

"L-Like what?" She asked, his eyes gazing past the three heavily armed men to the bodies of the deceased men behind them warily but then her eyes snapped right back to the Commander's thick yellow visor.

It was bizarre how much she stuttered.

The Tali in his time was shy of course but she was also a smartass, shotgun toting, strong teammate.

Was this another thing that was different in his time?

"We heard that you had information about a Turian Spectre known as Saren as well as the ge-"

"How did you hear that?" she interrupted with a nervous tone but before Shepard could answer her, all of them turned to the stairs to see Ashley, Kaidan and Wrex coming down behind the steps behind her, only to stare at the bloodbath behind the four people.

"Whoa, Commander, you were right to come here first," Ashley told him the moment she saw him, which made everyone look at the trio.

"Yeah Shepard," Wrex agreed with a grunt before adding "Turns out that Fist was luring the Quarian into a trap but it seems that you deactivated it. How impressive," Wrex then grinned and placed his shotgun onto his shoulders.

"And what of Fist?" Garrus asked.

Kaidan's eyes flashed to Wrex before turning to the Turian to say "Wrex had a contract to finish…." Shepard merely looked towards Wrex and nodded darkly in approval of this.

"No less than what he truly deserved," Shepard announced but he was surprised to hear Tali gasp in surprise.

"W-What happened to Fist?" Tali asked, concerned about the man who had helped her during her time of need, not hearing that this was a setup to trap her.

Shepard merely shook his head and explained all that had happened and when he was done, Tali was stunned. She had turned to the man for help and he planned on betraying her to Saren? It made her angry but then as she looked at the rag-tag group that saved her, she immediately felt grateful and she instantly knew how to help him.

And luckily, the Turian, Garrus asked "So now that we saved her, what do we do now?"

"Well…That depends on her," Shepard answered him while he turned his gaze to the Quarian, who's head rose to meet his gaze. "What do you say ma'am? Do you mind sharing your data with us?"

The Quarian merely gazed at the Commander in response to his question before saying "O-Of course. Y-You saved m-me when I w-was c-could have b-b-been killed…A-And if it inv-volves killing G-Geth….I-I'm in." Despite the stutter, he could hear the determination in her voice, causing him to smile.

At least something was the same.

"Gotta say Commander, it sounds like she wants to help with our cause," Shepard looked at Ashley then back at the woman standing before him and awaited her answer…

Which he didn't have to wait for long because she looked up at him and said "S-She's right, I do w-want t-to help. Y-You guys saved m-my l-life and I need to r-repay you for th-that but not here…We need to get s-somewhere s-safe…."

Shepard nodded at this and for a moment, he wasn't sure where to go until Garrus said "Maybe we should go to the human embassy. Your ambassador would probably want to see what the Quarian has."

"Tali," The woman said, making all eyes turn to her curiously.

"What was that?" Kaidan asked curiously.

"My n-name…" Tali said with a small but happy tone in her voice "Its Tali'Zorah N-Nar Raaya."

Shepard smiled faintly at this and held out his hand to her, saying "Nice to meet you Tali."

Tali stared at the hand for a moment then back at Shepard before taking his hand in a gentle handshake, replying "It's n-nice to m-meet you too..." Shepard nodded at this and turned around to walk off, hearing each member of his squad introduce themselves to Tali, who responded with a kind "Nice to meet you."

_'Well…That is one obstacle down. Now to get to the other part…'_ Shepard thought with a sigh.

Udina was going to have a fit.

* * *

**_The Citadel_**

**_The Council Chambers_**

"Shepard, have you completely lost your mind!" Udina shouted the minute Shepard walked into the room with his future team, causing them all to blink as the man raged on. "Fire fights in the wards, Tons of casualties, Fist dead and thousand dollars in damages! Do you have any idea how much money it'll take to fix all of this?!"

Shepard merely shrugged, saying "We have bigger issues than that. We found someone that is able to help us prove Saren's guilt."

Udina merely scowled and walked up the commander and said "You do now huh? So tell me, who is the one who will crack open the case that leads to Saren's guilt? The Krogan? The Turian? **You**? Don't make me laugh."

Instead of replying to his ignorant questions Shepard merely moved aside and from behind him, Tali stood tall but inwardly, she was nervous. She had never been in an embassy before so this was a brand new experience.

Udina merely scowled.

"A quarian? In the Embassy? Shepard, are you out of your mind? If they catch this in here, they will kick us all out," Udina said, almost visibly repulsed at the sight of Tali, causing Shepard to frown heavily, instantly remembering why he enjoyed killing Udina so much during his time but something was bugging him.

While Udina was a prick, Udina wasn't an outright racist. He even treated Tali kindly during his period so this was a little more jarring to see.

Was his time really that different?

Regardless, he was not going to get away with those words so with a scowl, he grabbed Udina by his jacket and pulled him close so they were face to face and said in a heated tone "You listen and listen good Udina. Councilman or not, I will not allow you to speak about someone who is here to help us. Now you better apologize or I will make sure I shot the parts of you that you will be missing…"

Pushing Udina away, Shepard ignored the looks of surprise from his squad mates and turned around to face Tali to say "Please forgive him, He's not used to having to play nice but he will and not just to you…" Shepard turned around and crossed his arms while the visibly shaken Udina came walking forward and apologized to the small quarian.

"I-It's ok…" Tali murmured softly before Shepard softly told her to show him the information that would blow the top of Saren's plan…

* * *

**_Council's Chambers_**

_"It seems our mission on Eden  
Prime was a huge success. This victory will bring us one step closer to the conduit…"_

_"And once step closer to the return of the Reapers…."_

"You ask us for proof and that is how we give proof. Anyone want to Rebuttal? This is an open discussion after all," Ashley said in amusement as Kaidan snorted in an attempted to hide his laugh, Wrex chuckled, Tali gave a small giggle and Garrus and Shepard were giving full blown grins as they started at the stunned expressions on the Councilors faces.

Shepard couldn't help but enjoy these faces.

In his time, these three caused some massive issues for him and his missions up until the Reapers actually arrived but while they were too serious in his time, these three seemed as if they don't have their emotions completely guarded…If the gob-smacked look implied anything.

"As miss Williams has stated, we have bought you proof of Saren's betrayal of the council, now you must do something!" Udina said as he pointed towards the three with a polite yet cocky tone in his voice, causing Shepard to merely shake his head.

And to think, this guy almost cost them their chance to show the council up.

"Udina…You…Are certainly correct in your assessment…" The Salarian councilor stated, the first to shake off his stunned expression. "We did ask for proof of Saren's betrayal and we have certainly gotten it but I wonder…Who is the female voice alongside his?"

"Matriarch Benezia…" The Asari councilor replied, almost horrified at recognizing the voice. "She is one of the most honored Asari Matriarchs in the entire Terminus System…What is she doing wrapped up in Saren's affairs?"

"And the most damning of all are these…"Reapers"," The Turian councilor said, finger quoting the word "Reaper", causing Shepard to sigh.

Even in his time, this guy does it.

"Who are they and why does Saren and Benezia want them to return? So many questions about all of this that must be answered…" The Turian councilor continued, his eyes narrowing in annoyance.

"Well…" The Asari councilor began, her blue eyes staring straight ahead at Shepard, a small, mischievous smile on her face as she said "I believe we found the person that will get those answers for us…"

Her fellow councilors were confused by her statement before they followed her gaze and felt their eyes grow in shock. "D-Do you really think Humanity is ready?" The Salarian councilor asked in alarm at this sudden realization.

"They aren't at all," The Turian councilor responded with a grumble but continued on with "And as much as it pains me to say, this is a desperate time. We don't have the man power to send anyone on this quest to hunt the rouge Spectre down and Shepard and his team took great leaps in finding the truth for us…"

"And before Nihlus perished, we were scouting him as the first Human Spectre," The Asari added on. "This is the perfect time and place to happen…It as if the Goddess planned it herself…"

"Then it is decided…" The Salarian councilor stated before turning to Shepard and saying "The Butcher of Torfan leading the charge to hunt down the Rouge Spectre…This should make headlines. Along with this news…Rock Shepard…Step forward."

Knowing the drill already, Shepard took a step forward and kneeled on one knee, his head bowed.

"It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel," The Asari councilor said with a small smile on her face. "Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle; those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file."

Following her lead, the Salarian councilor said "Spectres are an ideal, a symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will. Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

Then finally, the Turian councilor added "You are the first human Spectre, Commander. This is a great accomplishment for not only you, but to your entire species as well. Go forth Rock Shepard and hope to the spirits protect you and your team can bring down the threat looming in the distance."

Shepard leaned up and gave a small grin as he said "No worries, Saren will be brought to Justice and whoever these Reapers are…They will be broken…"

_'And no matter what…I will make sure that everyone makes it out alive this time…No matter what the cost…'_

* * *

**_The Normandy_**

"So…How does it feel to not only being the first human Spectre ever and the captain of the Normandy, Shepard? Must be pretty awesome, Right?" Shepard's hidden eyes gazed over to Joker's sitting form and gave a small smile.

He felt as if he was home.

This place…Along with the second version of the Normandy had been his home for so long, he honestly couldn't see himself not the leader of the entire crew. Yeah, he was a little disappointed with the fact Anderson was kicked to the sidelines again but he missed leading the ship and he wouldn't have it any other way.

But he had to make it seem like he was a little conflicted about it.

"To be honest, I hate the fact that Captain Anderson was forced to relinquish the Normandy into my command but at the same time, what Spectre has a captain to give him them their orders? Fact is, as guilty as I truly feel about all of this; I'm glad that I no longer need to follow the chain of command. I now have the obligation to do what needs to be done. Not only as the captain of this ship, but as a Spectre as well. I know that I will need to make hard choices for the good of the galaxy, something he wouldn't be able to do due to his morals and while that is good, sometimes, good thing have vicious backlash."

He then paused for a moment as if he was thinking of something added "Besides, Anderson and Saren have a personal history together and were he to remain on this ship as its captain, He would let his anger blind him which in turn would cause him to make the wrong choices and in the end…People will die…"

But then again…He also had history with the Turian rouge.

"Well…You shouldn't feel so damn guilty commander, all of us know that Anderson was screwed from his position and in some way, I agree with you. Kaidan told me about how he inadvertently made things a bit harder so as hard as it was to say goodbye to him, we're not going sit here and blame you for his forced retirement. Commander, we're all behind you one hundred percent. Just promise to lead us into an Asari spa resort to instill our loyalty from time to time," Joker told him with a wry grin but then took his eyes off of his new captain for a moment to activate the intercom then turned back to Shepard to ask "Well then, You have anything you want to say to your crew?"

Shepard nodded and stepped forward to the intercom and took a breath before saying "Attention crew of the SSV Normandy, This is Commander Shepard speaking and what I'm about to tell you will be of great importance so listen well. We are on a mission to stop a group of beings that have not been seen outside the veil in over two hundred years, being led by a rouge Spectre known as Saren Arterius. I will not lie; this mission will not be an easy one. Not even close."

He closed his eyes and took a slow breath before opening them again while saying "As much as none of you want to hear this, saving everyone only happens in vids on the extranet. There will be tears, there will be blood and there will be sacrifices abound. Being in charge means making sure I lead all of you to greater objective which is stopping Saren from getting to the conduit at all costs. That's a reality that needs to be shared by all of us. Everything is riding on our victory and I will be damned if we fail and let him succeed in bringing back these…Reapers…"

Shepard had to pause as the thought of both Sovereign and Harbinger entered his head, causing him to scowl.

So many lives were ended by these two…He would stop them but he knew that he couldn't be alone.

_"No one man is an island Shepard…"_ Thane's words from his past shot into his head as he nodded in agreement.

He would never try to fight this alone anymore.

He needed help and to gain it, he had to keep everyone alive this time…

"This could very well be our last mission and I don't want anyone to walk into this with regrets so tonight, I want those who have family on the Citadel to go home, make love to your spouse, spend time with your children, be with your family, drink till your hearts are content with your friends and comrades and if you don't have family on the citadel then phone those you care about but come tomorrow morning, we leave here…And we will fight."

"We fight for those Saren has killed in the past, we fight for those that can perish in the future….We fight for every living, breathing being in this universe…We fight for the lost…And we will fight for the saved…Have a good night everyone. Shepard out." With those words, Joker cancelled the feed and went to give Shepard a look only to blink in surprise when he found that Shepard had disappeared from his side.

"How the hell did he do that with them heavy ass boots on?"

* * *

**_Commander Shepard_**

Shepard didn't waste any time to leave what he deemed "Joker's domain" and waltzed down to the bridge where Kaidan was awaiting for him and with a pat on Kaidan's shoulder, Shepard said to him "Lieutenant Alenko, gather Wrex, Tali, Garrus and Ashley and tell them to meet me in the meeting room, I need to speak with all of you," Kaidan nodded at this but placed his hand on Shepard's shoulder, causing the Commander to look back at him.

"About what happened in during the impromptu mission…I apologize. I was out of line…" Shepard shook his head and placed a hand on Kaidan's outstretch arm, silently saying it was alright and that he forgave him but as he stared at the lieutenant, he heard the man's voice in his head faintly say _"It's been done Commander…Go back and get Williams …And get out of here…Please…go.."_ But the way Shepard had heard it, it was so…haunting…so…broken…so alone.

It was then Shepard remembered.

Kaidan was to die at Vimire…

Of all the stupid things to forget, this was one of them. He knew that his mind was on "Changing the outcome" but he should have realized that one of the biggest sacrifices was made by this man before him on that damn planet. But Shepard was here to change it. He would change Kaidan's fate. He had to do it…

* * *

**_Meeting Room_**

"So, any idea why Shepard wanted us down here?" A concerned Ashley asked Kaidan while leaning back in her chair, her feet propped up on Kaidan's lap only for Kaidan to knock them back down to the ground and give him a disappointed shake of his head, only for Ashley to stick out her tongue out at him childishly.

Wrex saw this and murmured out "Humans," with an amused chuckle.

"I have no idea. He just wanted all of us here," The lieutenant replied with a shrug of his shoulders, giving Ashley a glare when she placed her feet back on his lap, only to push them back off.

"He may w-want to go over the mission w-with us," Tali murmured, sitting in the chair farthest from everyone. "I mean, it's not everyday something like this happens." Ashley shrugged and glanced over at the Quarian and yawned lazily, leaning back on her chair.

"I just hope he gets here soon, I'm utterly exhausted from today's events," Garrus couldn't help but let out a bark of a laugh from Ashley's comment, which caused the human female's eyebrow to quirk in annoyance but as she opened her mouth to respond, the door opened to reveal Shepard without his armor but he was wearing his uniform and a jacket that had the similar colors of the Alliance uniform on it on top of it with his hood over his head.

Normally, he wouldn't dare wear his alliance jacket unless on shore leave but it was time for a change and this was a huge part of it. "I know that I told everyone to go onto the Citadel for shore leave but I needed to speak to all of you face to face about our upcoming mission."

Shepard took a deep breath and looked towards the six people he would be commanding once the mission began and knew he had some work to do but especially on Ashley.

She is brash, prickly, blunt and quick-tempered and has her moments of arrogance, she was very her dedicated to her job and the alliance, she was loyal, brutally honest, aggressive on the field and tough but far but she also had a penchant for poetry and instilled moral to whoever was under her command.

Her weapons training was one of the best in her class and no one could score higher scores than her and that impressed him greatly but that's when he noticed that despite her endless praises from officers above her, including his former commanding officer, Gunnery Chief Ellison, she was only stuck on ground Garrison posts up until Eden Prime.

He didn't get it, from all accounts, she was a perfect field leader that inspired unity as well as bravery but that's when he remembered an excerpt from Ellison about Williams from when he first glanced at her dossier years ago.

_"Even though Williams is a suburb Soldier and Leader, Her superiors' prejudice against her family is costing her the chance to gain actual combat experience, despite her exemplary technical scores. I cannot name the many times Williams requested a transfer to a shipboard posting, only to be denied without explicit reasons. I believe that due to this unfair discrimination she's experiencing due to her name, Ashley may start to think that she has to be better than the best, to make up for her grandfather's "Mistake" at Shanxi and I fear that this can lead to her demise if she is not careful."_

Shepard then understood.

Ashley's family name was being tainted by her grandfather's legacy as the only human general to surrender to the Turians at Shanxi during the early start of first contact war but he found this idiotic.

The general had saved the lives of his men instead of leading them to the slaughter against the Turians and not only was he shunned for it, he apparently cursed his family to this "Shame".

But as he watched her eyes gaze towards Garrus when the Turian moved slightly, he saw the hint of worry in her eyes and seeing that, he was reminded by their conversation in his past.

* * *

**_Flashback_**

**_Shepard's Universe_**

_"I know things are different here on the Normandy but…I'm concerned about something," Shepard's eyebrow rose at this. He and Ashley were talking about the mission to rescue Doctor Liara T'Soni when she suddenly sprang this up on him and at first, he was going to simply tell her to return to her duties but then he shook his head. Maybe he should hear here out on this one._

_"What are your concerns Chief Williams?" He asked after a few moments of silence before saying "And yes, you can speak freely."_

_"Thank you Commander…Ah, with all due respect Sir, do you think they should have full access to the ship? The Aliens I mean…" That took Shepard off guard. He wasn't expecting a question like that but then his eyes narrowed. He did not like where this was going one bit but he answered "I do…They are a part of this crew and so far, they've proven themselves worthy of my trust to not take advantage of it this isn't about their loyalty is it?"_

_Shepard then walked a few feet away from her with his back turned before turning his head and narrowing his eyes coldly and said "It's because they're not humans." He watched Ashley take a few steps back, seemingly surprised at the cold look he had given her but she then regained that fire in her eyes and said "Sir, this is one of the most advanced ships in the Alliance Navy. I honestly don't think we should sit here and give them free reign to poke around the vital systems. Like the weapons, sensors and engines…I just don't think it's a good idea."_

_"I understand your concerns but this ship is under my orders." Shepard responded icily but Ashley quickly fired back with "Under your orders? So it's under your orders to let aliens gather military intelligence? I don't think I can believe that was the Alliance's intention…" She seemed to pause for a moment to get her tune in check, seemingly remembering that she was talking to her commanding officer before saying "I just think that Humans need to rely on humans…We can't put too much trust on these aliens." _

_"So…You're telling me that instead of working as a team, we should mistreat the aliens that chose to come with us out of their own free will to stop Saren and do this on our own?" Shepard responded while shutting his eyes, trying to keep his temper in check but he couldn't…_

_He needed to let his thoughts be heard or else it would boil inside him before coming out at the wrong time so with a frown, he said to her "Listen Gunnery chief, this is my ship and I will not have you question my decisions on who I trust. If you continue to second guess my command, I will lock you up in the brig for insubordination and see to it that you go back to what you were doing before Eden Prime, working on planet side Garrisons until your dying day. Do you understand me Chief?"_

_He saw the fire In Ashley's eyes brighten at his harsh tone and knew she wanted to lash back but then the fired died quickly and like a wounded animal, she nodded and murmured "Understood Commander…."_

**_Flashback end_**

* * *

**_The Normandy_**

**_Commander Shepard_**

After the memory faded away into his head, Shepard let his eyes stay closed for a moment to gather his thoughts and then he looked towards Ashley and merely shook his head.

There was no way in hell he would allow this to go down but unlike himself in the vision, he needed to play this differently but he knew that she wasn't the only issue on his team but he'll deal with the others when their time comes.

But then he saw Ashley freely speaking to Tali about something, causing the quarian to laugh which caused Shepard to blink in surprise. Now this was new. Like in his vision, Ashley didn't trust anyone not human but in this world, she is freely talking and joking with Tali.

That's a refreshing change but he was curious as to why this was occurring.

Could she have changed as well?

Walking to a chair that was in the middle and at the top of the circle of chairs, Shepard sat down and gazed at his soldiers and said to them "Now, this mission is highly important. The fate of the universe rests in our hands. I know that we're basically a group of dogs facing a pack of wolves."

Garrus, Wrex and Tali glanced at each other at the mention of these "Dogs" and "Wolves" but the Turian shrugged and looked back at Shepard, prompting Wrex and Tali to do the same.

"But I know for a fact that we can hunt down Saren and take him out but in order to really do that, we need to do a few things…" Shepard continued while leaning back in his chair.

"Like what Commander?" Tali asked with a tilt of her head, making Shepard smile very faintly and briefly.

"Well, the first thing we need to work on is…" He started out before leaning forward to look at all of them with a serious tone in his voice.

"Unity."

This one word had caused the five members of his squad to look at him in surprise. "I'm sure all of you know that in order to truly become a team, we need to have harmony within this squad because without that, we would fall into chaos and being that we are the only ones that has the abilities to take out Saren, we might as well hand him the galaxy on a silver platter."

He then let his words sink in before saying "This is the reason why we'll be starting team exercises from this moment on."

When Shepard finished, Wrex lets out a rough bark of a laugh before glancing at Shepard and saying "Do you honestly think bonding will help our teamwork? I mean look at your troops."

Shepard turned his head to see Ashley and Kaidan on guard with clenched jaws then he turned back to Wrex who told the Commander "They can barely be in the same room as us without either getting scared or on edge. Given the chance, they wouldn't hesitate to take any of us down if we weren't in your presence."

"Which is why we are doing these exercises Wrex," Shepard stood up in his chair and walked to the middle of the room and said to all of them "I know for a fact this won't be easy for any of us. Hell, A Turian, a Krogan and a Quarian teaming up with humans to hunt down a former top Spectre which also belongs to one of the races in citadel space? This is practically unheard of but here we are. Doing the impossible already just by all of us being together."

Shepard let a sigh leave his lips as he gathered his thoughts for a split second before adding "… The Council already believes we won't be able to capture him and stop his plans and if we don't get on the same page, we will prove them right and fail. Something I will not allow. If any of you dislike the ideas of working with aliens of any kind, be kind enough to tell me now. Otherwise, we can begin."

At this point, he made it a point to not look in Ashley's direction, despite feeling the brief rush of anxiety from her and merely said after moments of silence, "Perfect…Now…Before we get our team training underway, I want to discuss with all of you the three main areas we will be heading to investigate after our brief shore leave."

"And what planets are those Commander Shepard?" Ashley asked with a serious expression on her face, which was shared by everyone. "The planets of Noveria, of Feros, and any planet that resides in the Knossos system." Shepard replied with a nod.

"These places…" Tali started with a confused tone in her synthesized voice, her silvery eyes gazing at Shepard, who nodded at her to continue. "What do they have to do with our mission, C-Commander?"

"Well, there have been sightings of one of Saren's accomplices, Matriarch Benezia in Noveria and in Feros, the Geth have invaded and fighting a human colony there but we don't exactly know why the Geth have invaded that planet," Shepard explained with a cross of his arms, the curious frown on his face telling his squad that he was deep in thought.

"And why the Knossos system of all places, Commander?" Shepard looked at Garrus and saw the critical thinking in the turian's eyes. "To find Doctor Liara T'Soni, The daughter of Matriarch Benezia and an expert on the Protheans. She was last seen in that system but then she suddenly went missing."

He let the team soak this in for a moment and once he felt that it was time to continue, he saw Kaidan raise his hand and with a nod of approval, Kaidan said "We should go to Noveria. If we can find Benezia, she might be able to tell us where Saren is hiding."

"I think that's a setup," Garrus replied, shaking his head at Kaidan's opinion. "Saren would know we would go after her first and may have tons of Geth to aid her. We should instead find her daughter, Dr. T'Soni. She could have valuable information about Saren and plus, she's a Prothean expert, we might need her."

Wrex bobbed his head at this and gave a reply of "Seems like the scuttle bone has a good point," with a rough but humored tone, which caused Garrus' mandibles to twitch in annoyance. "We should find this Doctor, Shepard," Wrex continued.

Ashley snorts at this and said "She could also be working for Saren. I mean her mother is on his side so why wouldn't she side with them? Personally commander, I think we should go to Feros first since the reports do say the Geth are attacking there. Dr. T'Soni may still be safe but the colony on Feros may not last much longer if we go after her or her mother first. Besides, maybe we can find some information about Saren and the Geth as well."

Shepard nodded in agreement at this and went to say something but then to his surprise, Tali's stuttering voice floated into his ear, saying "I agree w-with Ashley, Commander. The lives of h-hundreds of people are in d-danger from the Geth and t-they won't stop until every last one of your species o-on that planet is dust against the w-wind."

"It seems we've come to an impasse Shepard..." Wrex said with a small chuckle.

That they had.

Shepard was left with three choices and the least terrible one was looking for Liara.

Feros was a fucking disaster of a mission where he tried to spare people with that gas toxin but they soon overran them and both he and Tali were nearly killed during that mission. Noveria was also a bad mission because he had to watch Liara suffer through her breakdown after her mother's death.

After a few seconds of thought, Shepard looked at his expectant team and said "Hm…I think we should go t-"

Without warning, a solider busted into the meeting room and said "Commander! We're receiving an SOS from Feros from Captain Shepard of the Titan!" Shepard looked in alarm.

His sister was on Feros?! What the hell is she doing there?!

No matter what she was doing there, Feros was a death trap and looking at the SOS, it may have been sprung already. "Tell Joker to fire up the engines and call everyone back to the ship!" Shepard yelled.

"From the look on Shepard's face, I think we have our first mission," He heard Ashley to Tali and Kaidan and she was right. There was no way in hell that he was going to let his sister die, whether he knew her well enough or not when he had the power to save her.

The soldier ran off to let Joker know of the news as well as get everyone on board the ship. "Well team, looks like fate had a different plan for us. Looks like we're going Geth busting…" Shepard said with a clenched his jaw, a scowl forming on his face.

* * *

Rain: And like that, one of the worst fucking missions of the game is starting off first. What will happen on Feros? Find out on the next chapter.

Garrus: Damn Feros.


	4. Chapter 4

Rain: Hello all! Thanks for the kind reviews and it's time to start with this damn mission that pissed me off completely.

Garrus: It couldn't have been that bad.

Rain: You don't even know...You don't even know...

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

**_Chapter Four: The Mission in Feros! Part One_**

"I fucking **Hate** Feros," Shepard raged to himself as he bounced back and forth on his toes, his black hair sticking to his sweating face as his wrapped up fist slammed against the green boxing bag in a rhythmic pattern, a scowl on his face.

Of all the missions he had to do first, it would be fucking this one.

The first time he took this mission, he thought it would be a simple "Save the colony" type mission but instead, this fucking place had space zombies controlled by a fugly looking plant with a controlled, powerful Asari warrior as its thrall. It really annoyed the shit out of him when she kept getting cloned and getting in their way to kill the monstrous plant.

But even then, they had to deal with the plant zombies which was very aggravating to him as well. They absorbed a large amount of rounds and they could move very fast…Then he had to worry about the issue of the colonist.

In his time, he slaughtered them all when he knew there was another option and while he killed them all last time, he would go that extra mile to save them.

If he could.

Then there was an unknown factor which was his sister.

He was still amazed that he had one in this time period.

Was she like him?

Was she different?

Well she had to be in all honesty.

She was the hero of the Skyllian blitz.

But that's all he really knew and apparently, that's all anyone else knew of her as well as there were nothing else known about her before that day.

No name of parents, no other family members other than himself. Nothing at all. Maybe she had kept quiet about their family or maybe they were orphans.

All he knew that she was the key of this time and he needed her.

But then his mind continued to race.

In this time, he had a sister, Udina was a total racist dick, Ashley was friendly with Tali from the get go and hell, even the Asari counselor was less annoying this time around.

These small changes made things very different and if that was the case here, could his missions be different as well? Before he could really think on the implications of this, an amused female voice broke his train of thought.

"Wow Shepard, you've been hitting that thing pretty hard."

Turning his head, Shepard turned to see Ashley wearing a look of amusement on her face as she stood there, in a basic black shirt and grey jogging pants, leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

"As you can obviously tell, I am just releasing some stress right now, thinking about Feros…" Shepard told her, unable to keep the edge of anger from his voice as he uttered the name of their oncoming location. "But I suppose it can wait. How can I help you Ashley?" He asked while unwrapping the black wrap around his left knuckle.

"I…I heard what you said about us working with Vakarian and Wrex…And I wanted to talk to you about it," Ashley said as she moved away from the door and toward him but she then paused, as if she remembered who she was speaking too and said "If you want that is sir."

Shepard merely sighed.

He should have seen this coming but he wouldn't snap like he did the last time this came up. He would hear her out and try to sooth her worries so after a moment, he motioned for her to sit down on the bench and once she did, he sat down next to her and let out a small sigh, saying "Well then Ashley, speak your mind."

Ashley was silent for a few moments but then she took a small breath and said "Your idea…About all of us working in unity...I'm sure you know the stigma of my last name "Williams" correct?" Shepard nodded at this, remaining silent. "Well…I…It's hard to me to say this but while I have a lot of issues working with Wrex and Vakarian…I don't trust them on our ship but I know that despite this, they are here to help us of our own free will and for the good of the mission…I-I want to give your idea a go."

Now Shepard was surprised.

He expected her to talk about why she doesn't want them on the ship but instead, she was willing to make his idea work but he was curious. Why did she want to do it? "It seems your face is very readable, Commander," Ashley said with a teasing smile on her face, causing Shepard to blink.

That was also a first.

Schooling his looks, Shepard merely asked her "Why? Knowing your family's stigma, I would think you wouldn't trust them."

Ashley merely smiled knowingly and took out a silver locket and when she opened it, Shepard peeked inside and to his surprise, Shepard saw a young Ashley with three other girls, which he thought were her other sisters and standing behind them was a quarian teenager with her arms crossed, watching them with almond shaped silvery eyes.

What in the hell was he looking at here?

As if she knew what he was thinking, Ashley said "The four girls are me, my sister Sarah, Rachel and the youngest, Trinity. The quarian above us is our "Aunt" Talsi Orah Nar Raaya…My father met her during his last mission before his return home. She was being sold as a slave by some batarians bastards. My father immediately took them out and saved her from them. She had been in there for us since. At first, I fought against her presence, not wanting that "Alien" in our home after what had happened to our grandfather at Shanxi but when mom died later that year…"

Shepard glanced at her when she took a small breath and saw her eyes become harden, possibly to avoid her to cry before him and he was about to urge her to stop but she steeled her emotions and said "When my mom died, I refused to talk to anyone at all because I was sad at God for taking her to heaven…All I wanted to do was be left alone to wallow but Tayu was far too stubborn for that."

Ashley let a grin form on her face as she said "One day, Tayu snuck into my room and hid my favorite doll in her room. I was a pissed off ten year old that day. I raised hell but when Orah returned it to me after I bitched long enough, she said to me "Keelah, If that is what it takes to get you back to your normal self, I would have done that ages ago!""

Ashley let a laugh leave her lips as she shook her head.

"I was so furious at her for what she did but I later realized that she was upset that I was so hurt…Her! The one person that I couldn't stand because of her race was upset that I was so sad! It was then that I realized that I was so unfair to her...I called her all the names I heard our neighbors say to her and made her life a living hell yet she never grew mad. She was always happy and grateful for the little she had…I remembered that when I realized this, I hugged her and cried my little eyes out and apologized."

Shepard smiled at this.

"I remember her telling me that she forgave me for all that I said. I realized then that I judged, both people and aliens, wrong. I should judge them all by their own character, not of their race. Does that mean I'll be all buddy-buddy with Vakarian and Wrex? No but I am willing to at least get a good report with them during our Spectre hunting."

"Like you have with Tali?" Shepard asked her with a small grin on his face.

Ashley's face seemed to light up slightly at the mention of the Quarian girl and said "She reminds me a lot of my sister Sarah. She's very shy but I see some of that fire in her like Orah had when I was younger. I couldn't help but like her and to make it better, she even sided with me about our mission to Feros."

Hearing the name of the planet immediately put Shepard in a bad mood once again but before he could say anything, Ashley said "Look, I just wanted to talk to you to get my feelings on the matter out so thanks Commander."

Shepard shook his head and replied "No problem. Honestly, this works perfectly for what I want us to work on after our mission on Feros is finished but until then, we focus on this mission but thank you for sharing this with me Ashley." And he meant that.

In his timeline, the Ashley he had known was nothing short of a Terra Firma member due to her hatred but this Ashley was different. She was taught at an early age to not be so biased against Aliens while also remaining a bit hesitant to trust them as an individual which was fine with him.

It would make it very hard to shoot if again if things were the same in his timeline.

Ashley nodded and said "It is not a big deal. I'm just glad you didn't laugh it off like all my other commanding officers do. Besides…I told you this because you are right, we're a bunch of feral dogs going up against a pack of vicious wolves. We need to stick together." But what Ashley didn't tell Shepard was her second reason for doing this.

During the time Shepard had blacked out at Eden Prime and Ashley was recruited into the Normandy, The Gunnery Chief spent most her time thinking about the mysterious man that had come and saved her and wanted to know more about him so she looked him up.

And what she found out was something that surprised her.

Ashley already knew that his name was Commander Rockford "Azrael" Shepard and that his sister was the famed "Hero of the Skyllian Blitz" but what she didn't know was that he was known the "Butcher of Torfan" and he was a force to be feared.

From what the file on him said, his mission on Torfan was for him to take down the batarian forces there but he did so much more.

Shepard pursued the batarians and wiped all of them out, even those who surrendered and to make matters worse, it was at the cost of many lives in the Commander's own unit.

These actions earned Shepard the epithet "Butcher of Torfan".

And from her understanding, no one thought he was a hero at all. Some saw him as a soulless warrior that would do anything to get the job done and others saw him as an insane man with weapons but Ashley didn't believe that.

His actions on Eden Prime showed that despite him being about the book, he wouldn't hesitate to help his team.

So it was after reading his file that she wanted to get to know the man that would command her more and if opening herself and her past to him was going to get her on the path of knowing him better, not just as her leader but as a friend?

She would do it.

But he didn't need to know that right now.

Looking at the clock on the wall, Ashley stood up and stretched her arms up in the air before saying "It was nice chatting Commander but I better get suited up. When I was talking to Joker ten minutes ago, he said Feros was only two hours away." And with that, Ashley walked away, leaving Shepard by himself once again, stewing over the fact that the hell known as Feros was just two hours away.

"Fucking Feros…" Shepard grumbled out but at least he knew one thing from Ashley's story.

Perhaps some changes are necessary to make things easier.

* * *

**_Two Hours later_**

After changing into his gear, Shepard walked towards "Joker's domain" and saw Joker talking to Kaidan about their location where he then asked "Joker, ETA?"

Joker turned his head to Shepard and said "Oh that? We're approaching the planet in ten minutes but man the readings I'm getting from where we're landing is fucking huge boss. I haven't seen readings like this since we were on Eden Prime. And in the middle of those wild readings is The Titan's SOS signal so you guys better careful. We wouldn't want Pressley to captain this ship if shit goes down."

Hearing that caused Shepard to chuckle a bit before he said "Joker, I want you to drop us off at the Hanger and get to the Titan afterwards with the team I'm assigning to this mission." After saying that, Shepard glanced at Kaidan and then said "Come on, we need to have a brief meeting before we land."

Without bothering to see Kaidan following his command, Shepard waltzed down to the bridge were Tali, Garrus, Ashley and Wrex were and as he stopped to look at them, Kaidan came up from behind him to stand next to Ashley.

"Ok…This mission is not going to be easy at all. We not only have Geth activity here but we also need to help the Titan and any survivors within it and we have a short time to do it which is why I will be splitting us up. Kaidan, I want you, Wrex and Garrus to save the crew of the Titan while me, Ashley and Tali will investigate why the Geth are here. We do this quickly and get out just as fast, I don't want any of you to become heroes and risk your lives."

"So…you're saying we get a choice to not risk our lives?" Garrus asked him.

"In that case, I would like to stay here," Kaidan said with a grin.

Shepard glowered at the two before saying "**_Unnecessarily _**risk your lives…The sooner we get off, the sooner we get back."

The team nodded at this and with a small lurch, the ship landed in the hanger of Freedom's Progress, the small colony that Shepard knew was above the Thorian and his flunkies and mentally prepared himself for the hell he was about to go through.

"Well then Team, move out!"

This was it.

This was the start of his redemption as well as a better future for them all.

All he needed to do was try and stay on the right path, to be the hero he failed to be in his timeline and while he knew changes were coming, he had to keep on the straight and narrow. It wasn't going to be easy, nothing was after all. The best thing he could do is save as many people in the colony as he could.

"Remember Joker, once you rescue those onboard the Titan, returning to the docking bay if you can. This should not take long," Shepard said as his team stood in the de-contamination room, his eyes closed and his arms crossed in thought.

"Gotcha Commander….Alright guy and gals, we have just landed in the hanger of Feros. Please do not come back if shit goes down, thank you all and have a nice day, next up, stopping the Geth attack on Titan!"

Shepard couldn't help but roll his eyes and crack a faint grin at Joker's words as he, Tali and Ashley stepped off the ship and walked onto the balcony of the hanger where they were immediately seen by a colonist of Zhu's hope.

"Another Alliance ship?! So soon?!"The man said as he marched up to Shepard and his squad and when the two met up, the man put his hand out towards Shepard and said "I can't believe our little colony is getting so much help! My name is David al Talaqani and I'm so glad to see you," Shepard looked at the man's rather shaky hand and shook it briefly before letting the man's voice drown into the background.

From his past experience, the Geth should be here, readying themselves to shoot David into the afterlife but after five minutes of him talking, Shepard realized something was different about this situation.

The first circle around this mission, they had gone to ExoGeni, saved a Doctor who was studying the Thorian creepers, killed one of ExoGeni's representatives who tried screwing them over and finally dealt with the Thorian and its Asari commando clone and that was after going through the Zhu's Hope colonists.

So maybe he should just bypass that altogether and just hit the Thorian itself from the start then take out the Geth…But then he realized he may not even have to take out the Geth due to Garrus, Wrex and Kaidan going near the ExoGeni building to rescue his sister and if she was as skilled as he was, she could possible take charge and lead the three to free it up.

But as David droned on, Shepard then turned to his two companions for this mission.

Ashley looked as if she was going to bash David's head in due to the fact that he kept talking while she wanted to bust some heads but while she looked bored, Tali was paying close attention to what he was saying and considering Shepard heard the words "Geth" and "Death" leave the other man's mouth, he quickly deduced that she wanted to know more about the Geth attack.

But then Shepard paused.

Tali was on her pilgrimage!

And when he was here the first time, they found some information that they were able to use to help her complete it and that came in handy when he came back to life…Perhaps he could radio one of the others and tell them if they were able to find any information cells and bring him all of the results.

Pressing a button on his ear, Shepard turned away from the three and said "Kaidan, this is Shepard, how far are all of you from the Titan?"

* * *

**_Rescue Squad_**

"We aren't far at all Commander, it's a bit dicey though to be honest. There are these large ships that look like bumblebees and they all seem to be converging at this large building," Kaidan told his commander with a small frown on his face. "Joker is barely able to keep hidden in the clouds but I don't know how long that will last."

_"Damn, A Geth Dropship is there…Hm…and a large building…That must be the ExoGeni Headquarters they built here on Feros…"_ Shepard said through his headset, his voice low in thought before asking _"Any sign of the Titan yet?"_

Kaidan, who was walking towards "Joker's Domain" while talking with Shepard stopped behind the pilot once he was inside the cockpit and asked "Any sign of the Titan yet, Joker?"

Joker narrowed his eyes in concentration as the Normandy barely avoided trading metal with the Geth and said "No but the SOS is getting stronger. My guess it may be…Wait a second…I'm getting a visual…" Looking up at the large window before them, Kaidan and Joker could see the remains of a large alliance ship embedded on the side of the ExoGeni headquarters.

From the looks of the ship, they were hit by a very large beam that took out half of it, leaving the remaining half of the ship where the cockpit resided inside of the building.

"Man…" Joker whispered out softly. "It'll be a shock if anyone were to survive…What could cause that much damage to the Titan. That ship was built to withstand practically any attack, whether by human or Geth weapons…"

Kaidan gave Joker a harsh look and practically hissed out "Joker! The Commander's sister was the commanding officer of the Titan."

Joker winced.

He will certainly have to apologize to the Commander when this was all over.

"Commander, we have located the Titan. It was practically torn in half by some major firepower," Kaidan said before he narrowed his eyes and noticed that the torn edges of the ship was glowing a bright crimson which startled him. It had taken them a few hours to reach Feros at high speed and this ship looked as if it was just hit.

"And it looks like the Titan was just hit despite us getting the SOS hours ago…" Kaidan told his commander, hoping to get some explanation for this from the man if possible but Shepard was completely quiet, possibly thinking about what kind of firepower could have caused the Titan to be destroyed like this.

_"It…It is certainly strange. Is it in the building enough where you three can board it?" _

Kaidan looked at the ship for a moment and replied "It looks like we'll have to be delicate if we do, half of it is just rocking out of the building…"

_"Alright…Board the remains and see what you can find. And once you do, get inside the building and if you find anything of use, information or otherwise, bring it back undamaged if need be…We will be investigating the colony before we meet up. Be careful and don't do anything reckless…If you guys happen to be done before us, have Joker drop off the Mako on the Skyway that is connected to the Zhu's Hope colony to the ExoGeni Headquarters,"_ Shepard commanded before pausing and saying _"And if you find my sister, alive or otherwise, please let me know immediately…Shepard out."_

"Understood Commander, Alenko out," Kaidan said before disconnecting broadcast to his commander and turning to Joker to relay the orders.

Hopefully everything will be ok with this mission.

* * *

**_Investigation Squad_**

_'Be safe…'_ Shepard thought as he turned towards David, who finally finished his talking and wanted them to meet with his leader, Fai Dan, who was expecting them.

It was then Shepard's eye caught a Geth trooper slowly advancing in the entrance way of the hanger, with its gun on David's back and immediately, Shepard pulled out his pistol and yelled "David, duck!"

Seeing David duck, Shepard fired five rounds of armor piercing ammo into the geth trooper, causing it to fall on its knees and to the ground and the moment it did, several more Geth came pouring out of the entrance.

"Take cover!" Shepard commanded as he, Tali, David and Ashley ducked to the nearest crates or walls and began to return fire on the Geth that came running out to slaughter.

After seeing five troopers fall, Shepard quickly leapt over the cover he was behind and ran forward towards the nearest Geth, switching out his pistol for a shotgun, which was already packed with armor piercing rounds and shot at it once when he was at close range, deactivating it completely before smacking the next Geth with said shotgun and fired once into its headlight, shutting it down immediately.

Shepard then noticed three more troopers coming towards him and with a grin; he shot two more times at the oncoming Geth, shutting them down before motioning for his backup to follow him up the stairs where he quickly ran up and that is when he saw the white blur leaping from wall to wall.

"Damn it…Geth Hoppers…Totally forgot about them," He muttered angrily as he switched out his shotgun with his machine gun and aimed it at the white blurs, waiting for them to stop moving.

And the minute they did, the four of them began to fire at the two Geth Hoppers as quickly as they could but while they were able to shoot down one of them, the second sprung towards David but Tali was able to shoot it with her shotgun, shooting the geth in the back as it grabbed David, causing David to tilt back on the railing that protected them from falling to the abyss below to avoid its grasp.

Seeing what was about to occur, both Shepard and Ashley reached out to try and stop the Geth's heavy form from leaning into the man's body hard but they failed when they saw the Geth's full weight to press against David's body, causing David to falling backwards around the railing and plummeting down to the abyss below, all while screaming in terror before it swiftly ended with the sound of two bodies slamming into the ground

"Fuck…That is a terrible way to go…" Ashley murmured in annoyance, not wanting that entire thing to go down the way it did but it was Tali who was taking it very hard.

"Oh no…" Tali muttered sadly as the faint sound of two bodies was heard slamming against the ground below. "I-I wasn't…I d-didn't…" She stammered out as in horror as she took a step backward, dropping her shotgun as her hands flew to the front of her mask.

Shepard, seeing Tali on the verge of breakdown due to inadvertently causing the death of an ally walked towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders and said "Tali, calm down. It will be ok," while looking her dead in the eye.

"B-But I-" Shepard interrupted Tali's words by shaking his head.

"It was an accident…You were trying to protect him. We weren't expecting it to leap at him like that. You did what you were taught to do and that was to kill Geth…" Shepard told her with his eyes focused on hers, which was moving side to side in fear.

"But I-I killed him! He didn't deserve dying like t-that!" She exclaimed angrily and sadly.

Shepard understood the pain she was going through, he honestly did and once this was over, he would share his experience with her to help her through this but for now, there was a mission to be done and he needed her at her best so he did the best thing he could do…

"Tali, if you are going to let this accident shake you up, I don't think you'll be suited to be hunting Saren with us…" Shepard told her while moving away, placing his assault rifle on his back with a frown on his face.

"W-What?! You would send m-me away?!" She asked in shock.

"Yes I would," Shepard replied instantly, his voice coming out harshly, causing her to flinch slightly and despite feeling guilty for doing so, Shepard did not stop himself from adding "In missions like these, loss of life is inevitable. If you can't handle that, then you are not fit to be in the battlefield."

Tali's eyes narrowed in anger at this as she said "I can handle it. W-What I can't handle is killing an ally in battle like I did."

Shepard looked away and said "Tali, there will be a time where you will have to kill an ally…" At this time, he refused to glance at Ashley nor remember his choices in killing Wrex, Samara or the main choice that will forever haunt him.

Not able to look at Tali, Shepard decided to look up at the sky above them while saying "The best thing you can do is learn from it and try to better yourself so you don't have to make that choice again…"

"And what if you have to? Does it get easier?" Tali asked him softly, the former anger in her voice dying away.

Hearing her ask this caused Shepard to close his eyes as her heartbroken voice floated into his mind, saying **_"I loved you," _**before he turned to her and with a heartbroken tone that surprised both Ashley and Tali, Shepard answered "No…It never does…"

Aware that he had ripped himself open to answer her, Shepard immediately put that shield over his emotions, took a deep breath and said with a hard tone "Now come on, we must meet with Fai Dan and investigate what is going on," before walking past the two, causing both of them to watch his retreating back but then the two followed.

Soon, the three Saren Hunters found themselves at Zhu's hope in front of their leader known as Fai Dan. Battling through the Geth had been tough but Shepard, Ashley and Tali stood before the man, no worse for wear.

"It's nice to meet you, crew of the Normandy," Fai Dai said with a small bow to the three Normandy crew members.

"It is nice t-to meet you too, Fai Dan," Tali responded faintly, still a little shook up from the incident with David during their trek up here but she was more worried about Shepard now.

It was the first time in his crew where she saw him so vulnerable and it was because she herself showed him how weak she was by taking David's life. She didn't like seeing him so beaten…So haunted so she realized that she needed to be strong not only for him, but for their entire team and cause as well.

"Now, we came here to help our fellow marines of the Titan out but to also resolve their mission in investigating what exactly is going on in this place," Shepard told him, getting right to the point of their reason of being here.

Fai Dan suddenly got nervous and stuttered out "Listen, we need to clear out the Geth and fix our Colony before anything else could be discussed." Ashley and Tali shared a stare before they turned to Shepard and noticed that his fist was clenched but they then saw him take a very deep breath before exhaling.

Shepard knew that the influence of the Thorian was heavy in this place and as much as he wanted to burn the place down and walk away, he knew that the moment he did, Zhu's hope would be finished and with him wanting to try and save as much of the colony as possible this time around, he figured he would help them with what they needed him to do.

"Alright…Tell us what we need to do," Shepard asked with narrowed eyes.

He truly better not regret this.

* * *

**_Rescue Squad_**

"Alright guys don't be idiots and don't get dead!" Kaidan heard Joker say through his intercom as he, Garrus and Wrex stood at the exit of the ship, the wind rushing against them as they looked straight into the hollow, destroyed ship.

"Don't you mean don't get killed?" Garrus asked Joker through his headset, a look of confusion on his face.

The three of them heard Joker laugh and reply "I was watching this old time movie from like the 90's called Speed. The guy always said "Don't get Dead," in it…And I just ruined the joke."

Wrex chuckled and cocked his shotgun and said with a low voice "Don't give up your day job, Pilot."

"Yeah, yeah, everyone's a critic!"

Kaidan chuckled and took a few steps back before running at full speed towards the opened door of the Normandy and leapt into the destroyed ship known as the Titan and landed on his two feet while pulling out a pistol. Garrus was the next to leap out of the Normandy and into the destroyed ship but then Wrex was next.

With a roar of excitement, Wrex came barreling out of the Normandy and landed hard on the ship, causing it to slowly begin to tip towards Wrex's direction before settling at that tilt. "Alright team, we need to get out of here before this ship falls out the building," Kaidan said while turning his head to glance at the two aliens.

Garrus nodded and pulled out his Sniper rifle while moving ahead to scout the area while Wrex took heavy steps towards Kaidan and said "This place reeks of death and steel. We need to be careful." Kaidan nodded in agreement and together, the group of the walked darkness of the wrecked Titan.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Garrus growled out, nervousness filling his multi-layered voice while steading the gun in his hand, looking around the darkness with narrowed eyes.

"As do I…" Kaidan agreed with a small frown on his face, slowly advancing through but then, a sound of something falling entered their ears, causing all of them to aim in the direction of the sound and after a few seconds of silence, a bird came fluttering out of the ship and into the sky above.

Kaidan let out a sigh of relief and lowered his weapon while relaxing his stance but that immediately changed when the light of a several Geth shined before them, causing the three to duck for cover as shots began to ring out. Kaidan moved up from his hiding spot and repeatedly fired his pistol, nailing two Geth in the head but then had to duck as a rocket came flying towards him.

"Shit," Garrus swore while aiming at a red colored Geth, which had a rocket launcher in hand and fired at it repeatedly before ducking down to avoid gunfire from two more Geth.

Seeing both Kaidan and Garrus pinned down by enemy fire, Wrex returned his shotgun to his back and pulled out a machine gun before leaning up and spraying the Geth that were pinning down Garrus before finishing off the three Geth that were firing down on Kaidan, suffering the loss of his shield as an result.

Being free from the attack, Garrus popped back up and shot a Geth right in its "Eye" causing its head to shatter before leaping over the barricade that was shielding him and shot at the rocket holding Geth, which caused it to stumble backwards but it quickly lifted up its rock launcher towards Garrus' location.

Seeing this, Kaidan used his Biotics to lift up the remains of the Titan's console and slammed it against the chest of the Geth, knocking it off balance. Wrex leapt over the barricade and charged towards the large Geth and took it off its feet with a tackle and slammed it against the floor of the titan hard enough that the Geth's headlight flickered briefly but then Wrex took out a pistol and shot it three times in the headlight, shutting it down for good.

"Man…That was pretty close…" Garrus said while returning his rifle to his back and pulling out a pistol and moving to Kaidan, who he noticed was holding his head in pain. Garrus was a little unsure what to do but then he held out his hand for Kaidan, who saw this gesture and nodded in thanks before grasping his arm, prompting Garrus to lift him up.

"Are you alright Alenko?" Garrus asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

"I'll be fine Vakarian but thanks," Kaidan said with a genuine tone of appreciation towards the Turian. Wrex saw the display and narrowed his eyes in thought but then he turned his head.

"We need to keep moving. I don't smell any life here but I know there are some in this building," Wrex told them while walking forward. Kaidan and Garrus nodded and followed the Krogan while keeping their weapons drawn, not wanting to be caught off guard again.

* * *

**_Investigation Squad_**

"Alright Fai Dan, I have completed all the tasks that was needed to get this place up and running, it is now time we talk about your colonists strange behavior," Ashley said, getting right to the point when she, the Commander and Tali reached the bald Asian man.

Fai Dan looked side to side nervously as he took a step back from the three Normandy members and said "I'm sure it is just s-stress," with a stutter in his voice.

Shepard, already knowing the end result from this and said "Listen Fai Dan…Surely you know something strange is going on with those around you. You see it and you know it to be true so why hide it? We've already helped your colony. Now help us figure out what is truly going on."

Fai Dan lowered his gaze and muttered "I-I don't know if you guys can help…Give me some time to think about it…"

Shepard bared his teeth, finally tired of playing nice and gripped the shirt of Fai Dan's shirt and pulled him close until they were face to face and said "Listen...There is no time to think about it, Either you tell us now or we will find out what this place is hiding and you do not want us to have to look for things…"

He knew he could have just taken them all out and found the Thorian on his own but he'd rather not piss off them enough where the Thorian will sense them and cause them all to attack.

And if they did, he could at least knock them all out beforehand.

Fai Dan stared fearfully into the visor of the angered Shepard and said "I-I need to think about it."

Shepard pushed Fai Dan away and let out an angry scowl and walked off.

If he didn't want to stop what he knew was going on, Shepard will do it his own away.

He just hoped his other team is doing ok.

* * *

**_Rescue Team_**

With a furious shout, Wrex clotheslined a Geth so hard, its head flew off of its body, shutting it down instantly.

Meanwhile, Garrus was using his shotgun to fire against a Geth that had happened to get on top of him before pushing it away, pulling out a pistol and helping Kaidan get rid of the three Geth that were firing on him.

Kaidan closed his left eye and gritted his teeth as he used his biotics to launch several machines at two more Geth, knocking them off their feet where Wrex used his feet and crushed the heads of the two Geth and launched the Geth that was in his hands towards the wall as hard as possible, causing it to crash through the wall and down to the abyss below.

During their trek to find any survivors of the Titan, the squad of three were ambushed by a few Geth but luckily, they were able to defeat them as quickly as possible. Panting, the three of them regrouped and took a small break.

"I have to say, we are pretty much getting our quads handed to us," Wrex growled out, not as exhausted as Garrus or Kaidan but he was getting closer with every firefight they got into.

"And to make it worse, we are still not able to find any survivors of the Titan…" Garrus said as he sat down on a nearby crate while placing his hand on his knee with a small sigh.

Their mission was not getting any better.

It was then when they heard gunfire coming from the distance.

Sharing a glance with each other, the three of them pulled out their respective weapons and together, the three dashed to wear they heard the sound of gunfire but as they got closer, the saw the head of a Geth land right before them, causing them to look down in alarm before looking up and that's when they saw a sight they really were surprised to see.

Taking on three white Geth was a female marine with a specialized onyx Alliance military "N7" armor that had a thin white strip with a dark blue inside of it adorned on his right arm and an "N7" medal on the right side of her upper chest along with a helmet that adorned a dark blue strip in the middle and a thick yellow visor, that hid her eyes from the outside world.

On the armor, there was the faint image of a panther's body etched on the armor with the front legs of the lion going down the armored sleeves of her suit to her gloves, which had silver knuckles on it with three small spikes between the knuckles and the back legs going to his armored legs, which had three holes on the side of her legs pointing down towards the ground.

And finally, on her helmet was the image of the head of a panther on it, the top canines of the lion were going down the thick yellow visor and the bottom canines were at the bottom of her helmet where her chin.

On right hip rested her two pistols, her shotgun rested at the bottom of her back and on her back in a holster was held her sniper rifle.

But right now, none of those weapons were being used because it was her sword that were currently in use, stabbing into its headlight, taking it down but she then pulled it out and stabbed another Geth in the chest where she then forced her sword all the way up its body and through its head.

With a shout, she twisted her body and sliced the third Geth's head clean off of its shoulders, causing oil to spurt from its "neck" before it slouched to the ground.

Hearing the nose of four more Geth coming her way, she lifted up the blade in her hands and threw it into the headlight of an upcoming Geth, stopping it in its tracks immediately where it then fell on its back.

Seeing a Geth to her left lifting its gun to aim at her, she lifted up a Geth she defeated, stuck a grenade that was on the ground next to her, slammed it into the "eye" of the downed Geth and kicked it towards that Geth just seconds before it exploded, destroying both of the Geth while she stumbled backwards and rolled over a desk and ducked behind it, just in time to avoid being turned into swiss cheese by the Geth's machine guns.

As soon as she heard the fire stop, she stood up and fired at the two Geth repeatedly, nailing them both repeatedly to bullets on their shells before one fell on its knees then on the ground, defeated.

Smirking, the marine then leapt on top of the table and leapt towards the Geth, grabbed it by the top of its head and used all of her weight to put herself on the ground and toss it out of the window, where it plummeted to its demise.

Walking towards the Geth that had her sword impaled in its head, she plucked it from its socket and sheathed it back in its sheath that was on her left hip before taking a breath.

Garrus and Kaidan were in shock.

She had been able to take out a ton of Geth, maybe even more on her own?

Wrex merely laughed and walked past the two stunned allies towards the small human woman, who was trying to recover air and said with an impressed tone in his voice "That was impressive show of power."

The woman, with adrenaline still running through her veins, swiftly whip out her shotgun, turn around and point it at the laughing Wrex with a distrustful look on her face and asked "Who are you?" with a hard edge to her voice.

"Calm yourself female, my allies and myself are here to rescue anyone that was aboard the Titan and seeing as you are human fighting the Geth, I believe you belong to the fallen Titan," Wrex explained, not at all intimidated by the shotgun being pointed at him.

The woman, still distrusting, lowered her shotgun slightly and said "Yeah…I'm the Sole survivor of the Titan…Commander Jasmine Shepard…And who are you, Krogan?"

The krogan only smirked and looked back at the still surprised Kaidan and Garrus and yelled "Guys, Radio Shepard, we found a survivor and get this, it's his sister!"

Jasmine was surprised.

This Krogan knew her brother?

A few seconds later, her surprise grew as a turian and another human came running out to the krogan and glance at her at the same time. "Wow, you did good work dispatching those Geth," The turian commented with approval while nodding. "I hadn't seen anything that brutal since Shepard encountered those guys that tried to kill Tali."

Kaidan nodded in agreement but then he said "Shepard will be glad we found you, Commander. He had been worried about you since we received the SOS signal from the Titan." Jasmine was touched by this but she didn't allow herself to show it and she wouldn't show it until they were in the clear at Zhu's hope because the Geth were still here and she was armor-less and shield-less.

One wrong move and she was as gone as the wind.

"Alright…If you guys are with Rocky, I guess I can trust you…Because all of this is extremely new to me…When my team and I accepted this mission, we weren't expecting Geth nor the Titan being destroyed so please…Clue me in on what the fuck is going on."

But before anyone could say anything, a female voice suddenly rang out from above them, saying "Is it safe now?"

* * *

Rain: And that ends this chapter. Now before everyone gets pissed at me changing Ashley's past, Let me explain. This is an alternate timeline from Shepard's (Which was canon) and one of the reasons I changed hers was because I want to set up a close friendship to not only Ashley and Tali but between Ashley and Shepard as well and frankly, this is a good way.

And like she said, this will not mean she will be buddy-buddy with all aliens and you guys will see this throughout the story when I set up that mission. Another thing is that I also put up the idea that missions may not turn out the same as they did in canon. Some missions will be the same while others may be different.

Also, Fai Dai refused to help Shepard so now he's going to handle the Thorian on his own. Meanwhile, Kaidan and his team managed to find Jasmine. What will happen next? Find out next time on…**_ Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

Mario: See you next time


	5. Chapter 5

Rain: Thank you all for your kind reviews and sorry for the long wait. Had a lot to do but now it's time to get into the next chapter. Now the next few chapters will be shorter than the others so just be warned so just sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

Mario: Here we go!

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

**_Chapter Five: The Mission in Feros! Part Two_**

"Thank you for getting me down from there, it was disgustingly hideous in there," Lizbeth said with a grateful smile on her face which was directed at Kaidan while she dusted off her knees, trying to get all of the dirt off the her suit before giving up with a huff.

It had been five minutes since the group of three encountered Jasmine Shepard and Lizbeth and things have gotten annoying. While Garrus and Wrex explained the entire mission to Jasmine, Kaidan had left to contact the commander as well as Joker to let them know that they successfully found Jasmine but to his annoyance, none of his transmissions had gone through.

It was then Lizbeth snuck up behind him and told him that no radio contact was possible within the building due to the geth arriving and attaching themselves to the headquarters of ExoGeni.

"Glad we could be of service," Kaidan added with a wry chuckle leaving his lips before saying "But why are you here of all places? Surely you should have been off of this planet a long time ago."

Lizbeth nodded at this but said "As much as I wanted to be, I couldn't leave without setting things right. I was assigned to ExoGeni's study of the Thorian that infected the Zhu's Hope colonists with mind-controlling spores…I didn't want to be a part of it due to us testing living beings and no one should be a test subject! Whether human or alien!"

While Garrus and Kaidan looked uncomfortable due to the large Krogan behind them hearing this, Wrex nodded in agreement at this, a familiar anger spiking in his chest at the plight of his people but he willed it down for the sake of his mission. "But instead, they punished me for these thoughts and suspended me for it…" Lizbeth continued with a frown on her face.

"I stayed behind to send a message to Colonial Affairs on Earth, in an attempt to tell them about the Thorian, but the geth cut the power before I could transmit it," Lizbeth finished softly, clearly distraught over what she had done but Wrex placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile, causing the younger scientist to look at him in confusion.

"You did a good thing fledgling," Wrex told her with a nod of approval. "If only we had some people that regretted the Genophage like you regretted this. My kind may have not suffered so much."

"T-Thank you," Lizbeth murmured bashfully.

Kaidan stared at the rather kind sounding Wrex and was slightly confused by how Wrex was comforting the young ExoGeni scientist and wanted to comment on this but then something formed in his head. "Wait, how did you two find each other? I mean the crash happened two floors down and I'm sure she couldn't drag you out of the ship with that much damage to it and then up two flights…No offense," Kaidan said with an apologetic tone when he talked about her destroyed ship.

"After Instead of going through the fucking terror of the skyway, we decided to just use our ship to get to the roof and make our way down but as we were heading to the roof, Geth began attacking her ship with weapons we had never seen before. Their lasers cut through our ship like butter…We barely saw it coming."

Jasmine took a small breath and shut her eyes as she said "Several biotic users that were on my ship tried to help my pilot get it under control but he couldn't. In the end, Zieg, m-my best friend used all of his biotics to get me off the ship before it crashed…Luckily, it was there I found a those Geth trying to catch Lizbeth."

"Yeah. I was lucky that she did, Otherwise I doubt we'd be talking now…I owe you my life…" Lizbeth whispered while staring at Jasmine with a relieved smile on her face and revere but Jasmine merely smiled and shook her head, clearly telling her that it was no problem.

"Alright. So where do we need to go now since we completed part one of our mission?" Garrus asked with a cross of his arms.

Jasmine looked down at the ground and said "Despite losing my team, I refuse to leave a mission undone. I promised the inhabitants of Zhu's hope that I would end the Geth and damn it, I will do it…I won't let their deaths be in vain…" Jasmine then looked at her brother's soldiers and said "I know Shepard wanted you guys to rescue me but that will have to wait a little while longer."

Wrex chuckled at this before saying "It'll be our pleasure to kill some Geth with you, Shepard."

And with those words from Wrex and a supporting nod from Kaidan and Garrus, Jasmine looked down at the floor and whispered "Thank you…" but then she looked at the three with a determined look in her eyes as she said "Then until I'm with Rocky, you all are under my command! Let's move out!"

The three soldiers and the scientist nodded and were about to move out to their mission together but Jasmine then said "Wait a minute, I shouldn't lead those who have no names…I like to know who I'm working with before I put my life in their hands."

The three looked back at her and shared a look.

She did have a point.

"I'm Urdnot Wrex, famed Krogan Mercenary and Battlemaster but just call me Wrex. Humans tend to say my last name wrong anyways," Wrex said with a small chuckle.

"I'm lieutenant Kaidan Alenko of the Normandy. It is nice to meet you," Kaidan formally introduced himself with an added bow with a small smile.

"And I'm Garrus Vakarian. Resident C-Sec officer of the Normandy. I'm just along for the ride of catching Saren," Garrus said, finishing up the introductions from the three.

"A soldier, a mercenary and a C-sec officer….I can't wait to see who else my brother managed to rope into this adventure. My name is Jasmine "Jazz" Shepard. Hero of the Skyllian Blitz and the person you three had to rescue. Now let's gear up in move out!" Jasmine said and together, the group of five ran off to complete Jasmine's mission.

* * *

**_Investigation Team_**

"Commander Shepard, Fai Dan wishes to speak with you….Alone."

Shepard, Ashley and Tali turned to see Arcelia Silva Martinez standing in the door way with a scowl on her face. They had met her as she was speaking with Fai Dan when they first showed up and she had been nothing but angry towards them, something Ashley didn't like one damn bit to the point that she referred to Arcelia as a "Rent-a-Cop" every time she saw her around the camp.

"Hey, Shepard doesn't go anywhere with you, Rent-a-Cop," Ashley stated with a frown on her face and her arms crossed. Shepard couldn't help but chuckle at how protective Ashley was of him in this place and placed a placating hand on her shoulder, causing her to look at him with a scowl on her face.

"It'll be fine Williams," Shepard said as he got on his feet and walked towards Arcelia but then he stopped and turned to the two women and said "Just be careful and if things start to happen while I'm gone, handle it swiftly."

"Nothing will happen to the Hero, you bitch," Arcelia growled out while scowling heavily, causing Ashley to growl menacingly but Tali placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, once again getting Ashley to calm down enough to glare hatefully at the older woman. Shepard gave the two a small smile and a nod before walking out of the room with Arcelia leading the way.

The two were quiet entering Fai Dan's sleeping Chambers but when the two entered his room, Fai Dan looked up and gave the two a small but strained smile. "Thank you for meeting me here Commander Shepard. I appreciate it that you came alone as well."

"You wouldn't have met with me otherwise," Shepard responded with a frown on his face.

Fai Dan chuckled at this and nodded at Arcelia, who nodded and walked out the room and not a few seconds later, the door shut behind them swiftly, leaving the two alone. Fai Dan looked at Shepard long and hard before shutting his eyes and saying "I…I have a lot of trouble thinking on my own without this force willing me to follow its orders…"

Shepard crossed his arms and shut his eyes, instantly knowing what this force was.

The Thorian.

"In fact, every thought I have on my own causes me immense pain and the agony that my entire colony is going through this is infuriating Shepard…Do you know what it is like? Seeing your teammates, those that were under your command was under the control of some sick creature? And to make things worse, finding yourself under its control?"

"More than you or anyone else will ever know…" Shepard responded after his mind went onto the image of Jack's husk which he had to personally put down as well as many other examples in his past.

"Then…You know the situation you put me in now…I'm not stupid Shepard. We both know you know about the Thorian. I don't know how you know but you do…And despite hearing the whispers of shooting you down by it…I know that you want to stop it…" Fai Dan whispered softly, trying to keep his voice steady despite the agony he was in.

Shepard nodded his head at this slowly while leaning back on the wall, adding onto Fai Dan's words with "I do. My squad down at ExoGeni found it out and told me about the testing they had on your colony."

While Shepard was able to remember this little detail from his past, he also wasn't lying. His teammates had radioed him as he waited with Ashley and Tali and let him know of the situation with the Thorian as well as letting him know that Jasmine was alive, which relieved him greatly.

But he was getting his mind off track. He had to convince Fai Dan to let him help Zhu's hope before the Geth shit was taken care of. "I want to free you all from it but I need your help to do it because the way I see it. If the Thorian wants us dead and sends all of you to attack, we will kill you. And whatever the Thorian is planning for all of you, it will kill you."

"S-So either way we are facing death?" Fai Dan whispered, the voice in his head telling him to strike Shepard down and it rewarded Fai Dan with agonizing pain when the Asian man refused to do so.

"You are but if you allow it, I will find a way to stop it…Without having any of your colonist die," Shepard said with conviction in his voice but despite this, Shepard was a little unsure if Fai Dan was going to allow him to help but after a moment, Fai Dan stood up and nodded.

"D-Do what you have to do…The Thorian won't strike u-until the Geth are g-gone," Fai Dan growled out with hope in his eyes, something Shepard had a feeling the man had lost until this moment.

"Good…I won't tell you when it will happen but by the end of it, all of you will walk out of this alive," Shepard said to the man before pushing himself off the wall and walking out of the room, his mind already racing with thoughts of keeping these people alive.

And he believed he knew how…

Pressing a button on his omni-tool, Shepard radioed Joker and said "Joker, are you there?"

_"No, I'm sitting on a beach earning twenty percent,"_ Joker answered immediately with his familiar dry tone before he asked _"What's up Commander?"_

"I need Chakwas to give me the strongest anesthesia she has," Shepard said with a small grin on his face, a plan forming in his head.

_"Do I even want to know?"_ Joker asked wearily.

"I think it's best to tell you when I get to the ship," Shepard said, his grin growing into a full blown smirk as he walked into the room where Tali and Ashley were waiting for him.

"Commander, you're alright," Ashley said with a small relieved sigh leaving her mouth.

"S-She was worried a-about you and so w-was I," Tali said to Shepard when he got fully into the room near the two.

"I apologize about worrying you two but I have some news. I need you both to come with me to the ship as quickly as possible. I think I found a way to help these people," Shepard told them before motioning to the door behind him. Ashley and Tali exchanged glances before nodding and following Shepard out of the room they were in.

* * *

**_Rescue Team_**

"This mission is getting stranger and stranger…" Garrus whispered to both Kaidan and Wrex as the three followed Lizbeth and Commander Jasmine Shepard through the destroyed ExoGeni headquarters.

Since they teamed up with their Commander's sister, they had seen two Geth praying to this strange orb, they encountered several geth and to Wrex's surprise, his own brethren trying to take them down.

But the team managed to fight with them, with Lizbeth hiding from the gunfire and by the end of it, the group's journey in this place was nearly over and honestly, from the exhausted looks on their faces, they were glad to reach the finale of this battle.

Kneeling by a large open room at the end of the corridor, Jasmine leaned her head to the side to peak into the room and noticed Geth hoppers, Shock troopers and regular troopers patrolling the area and as she squinted her eyes, she could see two Geth snipers setting up their weapons as well to point it at the large opening.

"Ok…Three of those springy geth, two shock troopers, four regular geth and two snipers at the far end of the room…" Jasmine stated to her brother's team with a frown on her face.

"Great...this is going to bite the big one," Kaidan muttered in annoyance while shaking his head.

"Not necessarily. If we can sniped them from our position here, I think we will be fine," Jasmine said while pulling out her sniper rifle before looking at the three and saying "So who else is a skilled sniper on this team?"

Garrus pulled out his own sniper rifle and gave a cocky grin and replied "This turian dabbles in snipping every once in a while. Was top marksman in his class." Jasmine snorted at the cocky tone Garrus took but nodded with a grin before turning to Lizbeth.

"You may want to hide because this gunfight will not be a pretty one and I don't want you to be hurt," Jasmine told her with a small smile on her face. Lizbeth nodded and ran down the corridor and hide under some rubble that was thankfully able to cover her up. Jasmine watched her for a moment before turning back to the three and saying "The two of us will supply cover fire. You two will knock those damn geth up close."

"Great…I hope this doesn't become the norm," Kaidan said with a small sigh while Wrex glanced at him from the side in amusement.

"What? Being put in dangerous situations or teaming up with a krogan?" Wrex asked with a chuckle.

"Dangerous situations. I can handle teaming up with a Krogan without difficulty…Even a huge bugger like yourself," Kaidan answered instantly with a light grin, surprising Wrex slightly.

When he met Kaidan, the boy was intimidated by him and he knew this from Kaidan's body language and yet here he was, able to team up with him without showing that fear and wasn't even afraid to banter with him.

I guess fighting in battle could do that to some people.

"Then don't fret. We'll take them out," Wrex told the younger soldier with a tilt of his head, a wicked grin forming on his face and without any words, the two dashed out of the corridor and into the room towards the Geth, who instantly raised their guns in alarm.

With a roar, Wrex instantly grabbed the head of the first Geth trooper that was close and used all of his might to crush the head before tossing it at the hopper and using his biotics to push the dead geth and the hopper back into the wall where Wrex then ran up and fired his shotgun twice, killing the pinned hopper.

Meanwhile, Kaidan quickly moved his right hand forward, using his biotic powers to immediately launch a regular geth against a crate where he quickly fired several shots into its head, causing it to shut down and not a second later, Kaidan spotted a geth hopper coming towards him and forced it to remain still with his biotics.

Seeing this, Garrus swiftly aimed his rifle at the suspended hopper and shot it once, causing its head to whip back as the bullet pierce through it, causing it shut down before saying to Jasmine "One down. Think you can top that?"

Jasmine snorted at this and aimed her scope at the hopper that was leaping towards a charging Wrex and shot it just as Wrex was about to shoot it, causing it to fall harmlessly to the ground but the bullet that took down the hopper managed to go through the head of a geth sniper as well, making it fall to the ground, defeated. "Don't compete with me Turian. You'll find yourself losing," Jasmine boasted.

Garrus chuckled at this and said "Challenge accepted, Shepard," before aiming at the geth sniper that was sneaking forwards and nailed it right in the head, causing the machine's head to explode violently.

But that wasn't all that happened.

Thanks to the bullet, the pieces from the destroyed sniper's head was large enough to sail into the geth shock-trooper that was next to it, causing it to fall on one knee, causing the charging Wrex to ram his knee against the kneeling geth, destroying its head. "Just don't expect me to go quietly into the night," Garrus said with a smirk on his face before aiming his rifle again.

Meanwhile, the raging Krogan tackled the second geth shock-trooper off its feet and onto the ground where the krogan began to ruthlessly slam his fist into its head, smirking in glee as the machine pitifully deactivated but what Wrex didn't see was a geth trooper leaping from behind a large part of cement with a pistol in its hands, readying to strike the krogan down.

But Kaidan, who was tossing a geth trooper out of the window, saw this and said used his biotics to push the geth backwards against the wall where Jasmine quickly fired two shots into the side of its head, making it fly to the ground on its side. Wrex saw this go down and glanced at Kaidan, who gave a tired grin and a thumbs up, his left eye closed from the intense pain he was feeling in his head.

"You have to watch your surroundings Wrex. Never know when an enemy could strike," Kaidan said tiredly while leaning against a destroyed pillar but little did he know, the geth trooper Kaidan has tossed out the window had managed to latch onto the window and was pulling itself up with one hand.

Wrex caught the geth trying to point its gun at the unsuspecting Kaidan and pulled out his pistol, startling Kaidan enough to take a step back with a hint of fear in his eyes but then he heard Wrex yell "Get down!"

Kaidan quickly ducked down and as he did, bullet whizzed past the border of Kaidan's shield and nailed the geth in the head, causing it to let go of the window and plummet down to the surface.

Kaidan looked up in alarm when he heard Wrex laughing and frowned as the krogan stood up on his feet and shook his head from side to side, saying "I could say the same to you."

Kaidan snorted at this and crossed his arms with a wry grin, saying "Touché," before turning to see Garrus, Lizbeth and Jasmine walking into the room as well and saying "We cleared them all out but there is still the issue of getting the geth out of this place completely…"

"Well, I know that the controls to the window shutters are downstairs," Lizbeth murmured with closed eyed and crossed arms. "I've been noticing that the claws of the drop ship have been in various places of the building…With most of them coming through windows. If we can close the shutter to the window, we could dislodge the ship from the building and that could effectively take the geth out of action."

Jasmine nodded at Lizbeth's suggestion and said "Yeah. And not only that, it could let us contact the Normandy as well as Rocky…But I'm sure that Geth have that spot fully guarded in case something like this were to occur…"

"True," Wrex agreed with a nod. "But we managed to fight many of them off during our time here. We are one more room away from completing the mission…We can handle these toy robots."

Jasmine chuckled at this and nodded as well, adding "You're right…I couldn't look myself in the face if I abandoned the mission after my crew sacrificed their lives to see it through…Come on team, we have one more push!"

But little did they know, that their plan in trying to complete the mission at ExoGeni was going to make things turn for the worse on Shepard's side.

* * *

Rain: And that is the end of this chapter. Was stuck with Writer's block for a while but I managed to get this out. How was it? Was it good or bad? Let me know in a review. So what will happen when one mission's victory winds up interfering with another's? Find out next time on…**_ Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

Mario: See you next time.


	6. Chapter 6

Rain: And here we are for a new chapter. I'm sorry it took forever but things are now picking up so sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

Mario: Here we go!

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

**_Chapter Six: The Mission in Feros! Part Three_**

Wrex let out a loud roar as the barrel of his machine gun slammed into the chest of a red-armored geth before firing endlessly, causing the bullets to shred through its insides and out of its back, nailing the three white geth that happened to be running behind.

Wrex pulled the gun out of the Geth's body and grabbed the neck of the geth and ripped it clean off the shoulders of the machine before swinging the makeshift mace at the head of the second geth against the head of another geth that was coming up behind him, shattering it completely.

Meanwhile, Garrus, with his sniper rifle was providing cover fire for Jasmine as she ran towards a white armored geth and sliced through its arm with her blade before twisting her body and slicing it head off but she quickly caught it tossed it towards the slim springy geth, who caught it but was quickly cut down but Jasmine's sword slicing through the stomach, causing both halves to fall on the ground.

Kaidan lifted his glowing hands up to the air with a roar which caused the clearly destroyed computer terminals to be ripped out of the ground and floating high into the air before he slung his hands forward, launching them towards the remaining geth which was then crushed under the heavy weight of the machines.

Kaidan fell on one knee as he held his head with a small pant, saying "I really hope that's all of them."

Jasmine looked around and narrowed her eyes in thought before turning around and saying "Don't worry. It's clear…" before letting her guard down and lean against the bullet riddled wall, her hair sticking to her sweating face. "It's finally over…" She whispered while shutting her eyes and letting her head drop forward.

"It's not over yet," Garrus stated while walking into the room with a nervous Lizbeth behind him. "We still need to drive out the geth from this building."

Jasmine let out a small chuckle and nodded before facing Lizbeth and motioning to the only functional console left. Lizbeth nodded and walked towards the console, careful not to trip over the destroyed machines and began to tap on the keys quickly while saying "It'll take a few minutes but I can get the shutters to close and it should all be over."

"Good…Then we all can get back to Shepard to let him know the mission was completed," Wrex stated with closed eyes. Wrex had felt it since they landed on this planet and he thought once they get rid of the geth, it would all be over but something still wasn't right in the air and he couldn't tell what it was.

It was keeping him on edge.

"Hey…You're looking uglier than usual. Is something up?" a multi-toned voice stated in front of the large Battlemaster, causing Wrex's eyes to snap open to face a grinning Garrus, obviously happy about completing his mission.

"Speak for yourself," Wrex said with a frown on his face before adding "Something is still not right with the air of this planet…I sensed it when I got here and figured the feeling would go away when we emptied this place of the Geth but it hasn't."

Garrus frowned and looked outside of the window at the grey sky and admitted with a frown on his face "I thought I was the only one feeling that something was off here…This place does have a weird feeling to it…" Garrus then looked towards the Krogan and added "Well whatever the case, we defeated the geth…The hard part is over and that is all that matters…"

And with those words, the shutters began to fall before the window before shutting. The sounds of metal meeting metal was heard as the shutter sliced through the legs of the Geth's Dropship, causing it to fall down to the distance.

* * *

**_Zhu's Hope Hanger_**

**_Commander Shepard_**

"I think this is all of it, Commander," Chakwas stated as an unnamed marine placed the final crate of anesthesia in front of Shepard and his two partners, all while Shepard held a grin on his face. Tali and Ashley looked from behind him and eyed the crates before Ashley asked "How will this help us free them from that damn plant?"

During their trek to the hanger, Shepard had decided to clue the two females about the Thorian, only telling them that Fai Dan was the one who clued him on its existence as well as the issue the entire camp faced because of it.

Of course Ashley and Tali jumped on to free them but they didn't exactly know how they were going to help them until now. "Simple…We're going to use this…This is the strongest Anesthesia we have on this ship. Strong enough to knock someone out for a long while and even if it doesn't, it makes the body weak enough so if the Thorian does take control, they wouldn't be able to move at all."

Tali poked her two fingers together with a nervous stutter of "W-What If it d-doesn't work at all?" Shepard turned to Tali and merely grinned as well, his hand touching her left shoulder gently.

"We'll figure something out but I am sure it'll work…Trust me," Shepard told her softly with an encouraging smile on his face. Tali stared up at her commander's eyes and felt a smile forming on her face, her silvery eyes arching up to let Shepard know of her smile.

Ashley's eyes switched from Tali to Shepard as her eyebrow rose from this brief interaction between the two but she decided to file this away for now, all with a small grin on her face.

Shepard gave her a nod before turning to the marines and saying "Take these to the water supply as well as the amplifier…When we give the signal, turn it on. It should knock everyone out in the camp. Hopefully you guys will be close enough for us to reach you by radio"

The head marine saluted Shepard before he and five others quickly took the crates and moved them out of the ship and down the hanger. Shepard quickly turned to Tali and Ashley and said "Now, we need to hurry up and get back to the colony to make sure everything goes off without a hit-"

Shepard was interrupted as the sounds of gunfire erupted from the distance, causing the three to glance at each other in alarm. Quickly, the three ran through the hanger until they saw their men down on the ground, all dead from six of the colonist that were now charging towards them.

"Take them out but don't kill them," Shepard commanded before the three charged for the group of six and the moment he got close, his right hand shot out and punched the first colonist, a female with white hair, in the face so hard, she dropped to the ground, unconscious.

Shepard then ducked a wild swing from another colonist and grabbed the man by his waist and lifted the man off the ground and slammed him quickly viciously on his neck and shoulders while bending backwards until the top of his helmet scrapped the ground.

Tali meanwhile used her shotgun and smacked a male colonist in the face with the gun before grabbing his head and slamming it into a steel pole, knocking him out before she swung her gun upwards to knock a female colonist off her feet and onto the ground before moving forward, lifting her head and slamming it twice on the ground, knocking her out.

Ashley felt her shield get hit with a bullet as she leapt forward and delivered a dual clothesline to a male and female duo, knocking them both off their feet and onto the ground hard enough to leave them dizzy before she quickly knocked them out by two hard punches.

Once this six were out for the count, the three ran to the marines and checked for any life but all of them were dead. It seemed that the colonist overheated their guns shooting down their men. "Shit...This isn't going to end well..." Ashley murmured after saying a prayer for the dead marines.

Shepard was silent for a moment before looking towards the destroyed amplifier and felt a sigh leave his lips. So not only were five of their own gunned down but his plan was quickly ruined. "Hmm…Contingency plan. Kneecap them."

Tali and Ashley nodded at this and together, the three ran in the direction of the colony but when they reached Zhu's Hope, they saw noticed the colonists standing stock still near the entrance as green leaf like monsters were growing from the ground.

"Here we go…Take 'em!" Shepard shouted while pulling out his pistol.

* * *

**_Rescue Team_**

"So…What is the plan now?" Jasmine asked as she turned to her rescuers with Lizbeth standing by her side. Kaidan, Garrus and Wrex exchanged glances before facing their leader's sister.

"Simple, we get back to Shepard and get you there safely…I just hope communications are working again," Kaidan stated to her the survivor of the Titan before activating his omni-tool and saying into it "Commander Shepard? Can you read it me?"

Everything was silent for a split moment before Kaidan heard the familiar sounds of gunfire rang into the air, causing all eyes to go to him in alarm. _"Kaidan, I'm glad to hear your voice,"_ Shepard said moments later, his voice coming in loud over the gunfire coming from his side of communications.

"Commander?! What is going on over there?!" Kaidan asked in alarm while Garrus, Wrex and Jasmine crowded around Kaidan to hear what the leader had to say.

_"__We found out some things about the colony that we weren't supposed to be found out and well the trap has been sprung and we're caught in the crossfire,"_ Shepard responded but then the sounds of a shotgun going off caused all of them to tense up.

"The Thorian…It has to be," Lizbeth whispered to Jasmine, dread filling her voice as she covered her mouth.

Jasmine quickly took Kaidan's omni-tool covered arm and said "Rocky, stay there and stay guarded! We'll be right there!" The group heard Shepard's rather strained laugh from his sister's words.

_"__I know. Just get back here as quickly as possible. We've managed to take down a few of the colonist but these Thorian Creepers are another issue. They take a ton of damage before they go down so if you guys encounter them, remember that. Meanwhile Tali, Ashley and I will be moving forward to destroy the Thorian!"_ Shepard exclaimed before the transmission suddenly went dead, causing the group to exchange glances.

"We need to get to them as quickly as possible," Jasmine stated with a heated look in her eyes.

"I agree but how can we get there?" Garrus responded with a frown on his face. "I mean, we all arrived here by ship. With the Titan crashing and ours being with Commander Shepard, we're stuck here."

It was then Lizbeth gave a small grin, causing all of them to turn to her in confusion.

"We aren't stuck here. Our company owns its own Mako downstairs in the garage at the bottom of the building. It should still be fully operational," Lizbeth stated while turning her back on the four hardened warriors before saying "Let's get going!"

It was then Lizbeth ran away from them, no doubt heading down the stairs…Or the remains of them anyways.

"I have to say, I like her," Kaidan said with a small grin on his face before he and his teammates charged after her.

* * *

**_Investigation Team  
_**

"Final one down Commander!" Tali exclaimed while another one of those disgusting plant zombies fell to the might of her shotgun. The battle against the colonist was a quick one, each of them nailing them in the knees before knocking them out but the Thorian monsters were a different beast to handle altogether but they were able to take them down in the end.

Ashley smiled at this and said to her two squad mates "Good. All we need to do now is get to the Thorian. Come on let's go and kick its ass to high heaven."

Shepard chuckled at this lowly and gave a nod but then the three of them heard heavy panting behind them and when they turned around, they saw the struggling Fai Dan coming towards them, his face contorted in agony as the gun in his left hand shook violently.

As if he was fighting himself from shooting them.

"Y-You did it…S-Sure the injuries are bad but they are all still alive…" Fai Dan said with a pained smile on his face.

Shepard nodded and said "No worries. Nothing Med-gel won't fix…" But as he said this, he signaled for Ashley to ready her pistol in her hands. What Shepard knew was that this was the point that Fai Dan was going to kill himself but Shepard wouldn't let him. Without a good leader, Zhu's hope didn't recover from what had happened and that was something he didn't want.

From what he saw during his time here, these people were like family and he didn't want to tear them apart. Fai Dan's struggle with the Thorian was becoming worse as he rose the gun up and started to talk about the pain of it and pointed at the three while saying "The Thorian…It's too strong for me to resist anymore…I-It wants me to stop you…"

"You won't," Shepard said, echoing his version of Fai Dan who took his life at this point and it was at that time when Shepard silently signaled to Ashley to take the shot and without any hesitation, Ashley lifted her pistol and landed two shots to his knees, causing the man to crumple to the ground, his gun falling from his hand as he fell.

Shepard walked towards the downed leader and kneeled down and said "I know what you were going to do. Do not do that. These people need you…Now rest Fai Dai…" Shepard then lifted his head and slammed it hard, knocking the man out for some time, just like his fellow colonist.

Shepard stayed kneeling beside the unconscious man and said to Tali "There is an active console over to your right...That'll get us into the area where the Thorian lies…"

Tali quickly moved to the console and pressed a few keys and that was when a large column began to lift off of the ground, revealing a stairwell heading below underground.

Shepard stood up and heard the groans of the people he and his team had shot down and said "Let's make this quick so we can heal them. Let's go!"

And with that, the three ran towards the stairs heading below underground.

"You think this battle will be easy at all or will it be an all-out war?" Ashley said to her two teammates while gripping her shotgun heavily. Shepard remained silent from this question but Tali gladly answered her.

"I-It should be easy, I mean it's a p-plant, it's is not like it's a gi…giant…u.." Tali's words died in her throat as the three came upon the large mutant plant known as the Thorian.

In all of its putrid, disgusting glory.

"The fuck is that? It looks and smells awful…" Ashley murmured with a disgusted look on her face.

"The T-Thorian I'm g-guessing…But at least I can turn off my now precious function of my suit to stop from smelling it…" Tali murmured with a hint of nervousness within her warble filled voice.

"It's uglier than I remem-than I thought it would be," Shepard murmured only to quickly correct himself, hoping Tali nor Ashley would catch his slip up and thankfully, they did not. Instead, they continued to eye the hideous thing as they walked towards it but that's when they noticed the Thorian shivering violently.

"I think I'm going to be sick…" Ashley murmured in horror while covering her mouth and looking away as some strange, horrible smelling liquid began to drip out from behind the three gross tentacles that was attached to this creature and a moment later, a green skinned Asari Commando came out in a crouch position before them.

Shepard said "Well…This is going to be troublesome…"

"Invaders, you're every step is a transgression. A Thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good only to dig or decompose," The Asari said with a proud but angered tone in her voice. "I speak for the old Growth, as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It commands you to be at awe."

"Really?" Shepard asked with a tilt of his head before his pistol came out and shot the Asari right in the head, causing her to fall onto her back, dead and a few seconds later, her body evaporated into brown sludge.

Ashley and Tali gasped in shock at the sudden death of the Asari by the hands of their commander and their shock only grew as Shepard said directly to the Thorian "I could care less about you, you overgrown weed. Release your hold on the colonists and die."

"C-Commander, don't you mean "Or die?"" Tali asked.

Shepard merely smirked and replied with gritted teeth "I said exactly what I meant to say…You see, I don't like when one being tries to control or exterminate another…It pisses me off and to have this fucking thing talk as if it were royalty while in reality, it is a rotten, disgusting, putrid plant only makes me madder."

Shepard then aimed his gun and shot at the Thorian several times until it overheated before saying "I will keep the Asari busy when it comes out. I got it mad enough for it to focus on me. You guys notice its roots?"

Ashley and Tali looked up to see the Thorian's roots entering random spots in the large area. "Take out the roots, the Thorian falls…Get going…" Ashley and Tali stared at Shepard for a moment before the two nodded and together, they left together, leaving Shepard alone with the Thorian, which began to shake in fury as another Asari came out of its mouth and with a rage Shepard has seen before, the Asari shouted "I'll kill you for your transgressions!"

Shepard merely smirked.

"Then ring the bell."

* * *

Rain: And that is the end of the chapter. The next chapter will end the Feros Saga and will star the "Search for Liara" Saga so until then…

Jack: Peace bitches.


	7. Chapter 7

Rain: And this is the next chapter of my ME fic. I hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter and I hope this chapter is a lot better than that. So sit back, relax and enjoy!

Mario: Here we go

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

**_Chapter Seven: _****_**_The Mission in Feros! Final Part_** _**

**_Investigation Team_**

The battle between Shepard and the agent of the Thorian was an interesting one.

While he was an adept at Boxing and Muay Thai, fighting an Asari was a new experience in both of his lifetimes.

Sure, he had sparred with Liara during his past life but this was a true battle between a Spectre and an Asari Commando.

The Thorian agent was far more quicker than him and the speed of her hits would leave his head spinning and from what he remembered from sparring with Liara, most Asari spend thirty plus years learning martial arts so he knew he was a bit outclassed.

But he's been up against odds bigger than him before so this was nothing new to him.

"It is fruitless to continue this endeavor. Just lie down accept your fate as the life source of the Thorian," The Asari Commando commanded as she threw a crisp jab towards Shepard's head.

Shepard rolled with the punch and managed to punch the back of her head hard, causing her to stumble forward before turning around and kicking Shepard in the stomach, sending him stumbling backwards.

The Asari pushed her opened left hand forward, causing her biotics to slam into Shepard's body, sending the Spectre collided against the wall, causing him to fall on one knee.

But when she tried to follow up with a kick to the face, Shepard moved his head to the side and wrapped his right arm around her while using his left arm to support her, lifted both him and the Asari off the ground and slammed her on her back.

Shepard removed his arms from her and tried to strike her with his elbow but the clone moved her head to the side and rolled away as quickly as possible.

But Shepard followed after her and when she got up on her feet, Shepard's hard fist collided with her right cheek, sending her crashing to the ground.

The Asari pushed herself off the ground briefly to kick Shepard in the stomach before using her biotics to rise off the ground and onto her feet where she then turned around and landed a round house kick to Shepard's head, not only causing his visor to crack but it caused him to fall to the ground hard.

As Shepard shook his head to get back into the game, he felt the Asari's foot collided with his stomach with enough force to crack his armor, causing him to flip over to his back.

Without warning, Shepard quickly kicked her kneecap, causing the clone to fall on one knee where he quickly landed a hard right hook, causing her to roll away. Shepard flipped up to his feet just as the Asari returned to her own and the two had a standoff.

"You know human, you have pleased the Thorian well by this show but you will still lose," The Asari noted with a smug tone in her voice.

Shepard sneered and unhooked his helmet before removing it and tossing it to the side. "You're a lot durable than your body looks. I am surprised," Shepard replied before gritting his teeth.

He had sent Tali and Ashley up to attack Thorian a while ago and while he could hear gunfire above him, the Thorian has yet to move but a few seconds later, the Thorian roared in agony.

The Asari held her head in pain with one eye closed as one of the appendages of the Thorian slunk out one of the windows, causing slime to pour from the wound.

"My master, what has happened?" The Asari asked, her head turning to face the large mutant plant. The plant roared growled in agony before the Asari's eyes widened in shock before they narrowed in cold fury.

"I must stop those retched creatures from harming the Thorian!" The Asari quickly kneeled down, preparing herself to leap to the room where Tali and Ashley would be.

Shepard saw her leaping and quickly ran towards her and just as she leapt, Shepard leapt up as well tackled her in mid-air, causing the two to crashing into an abandoned room where the two slammed into the ground.

The Asari and Shepard quickly moved to their feet but the Asari kicked Shepard in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards but he quickly recovered from the blow and quickly returned it with a right hook to her face.

The clone stumbled out of the room and turned around only for Shepard to kick her in the chest hard, sending her falling on her back.

Smirking, Shepard came walking out of the room while cracking his knuckles and said "You'll have to go through me to hurt my squad."

The Asari's eyes began to glow a violent blue as she hissed out "That can be arranged…"

* * *

**_Rescue Team_**

"She drives just as bad as Shepard does!" Kaidan screamed out as ExoGeni's Mako bounced on the skyway onto a two geth that were instantly crushed by the large machine with Jasmine at the wheel.

"Shepard drives like this?!" Garrus exclaimed in horror as the Mako lurched forward after the front left tire slammed into the head of a geth rocketeer, destroying it upon impact.

"This is so awesome!" Lizbeth exclaimed.

Wrex lazily snored away in the back seat, not at all bothered by the intense ride.

They had been driving for a few minutes now after meeting with Lizbeth's mother, who was being held hostage by a mad man that worked at Lizbeth's company, ExoGeni.

It had been a tense standoff but Jasmine was able to talk the man down into surrendering his gun. Despite being reunited with her mother, Lizbeth was determined to stay with Jasmine and her temporary crew to see this through.

She helped start this whole project, she would see it be destroyed and nothing was going to stop her. Jasmine tried to dissuade her to not go with them, stating it was dangerous but Lizbeth was too strong willed for her to convince so reluctantly, she came along for the ride.

But she did come with a standard pistol, which thankfully, she knew how to use and also some nerve gas grenades in case they needed it. "Are all of your adventures like this? So exciting?" Lizbeth asked the rather pale Kaidan.

"Well...as of recently…Yeah," Kaidan replied while giving her a small grin, despite his fear.

"We've arrived…" Jasmine said after breaking, causing the Mako to skid to a stop. After waking Wrex up, the group of four got out from the Mako and went to the garage door of Zhu's hope and noticed a Thorian Creeper crouched down on the ground.

Thanks to Shepard warning them about the creepers earlier, they showed no fear as they plowed through the medium sized amount of creepers within the garage which lead to Zhu's hope where they saw the downed colonists. Some were still out cold and others were fruitlessly trying to crawl to their weapons but they were too weak to try.

From the looks of it all, they were hit ten minutes ago, probably from Shepard and his squads' attempt to defend themselves but during their investigation, the group came across three bloody footsteps heading towards the stairs heading underground.

No doubt Shepard and his team went down there.

"You guys go on ahead. I'll knock them all out with my nerve gas and heal them of their wounds," Lizbeth said with a smile on her face, happy that all of colonist were still alive.

"And I will stay here to watch over her, just in case," Kaidan chimed in, causing Lizbeth's smile to widen ever so slightly. Jasmine, Garrus and Wrex gave a nod before the three went down below.

As the three of them went down to the area, the three could hear gunfire as well as sounds of an old fashioned fist fight which confused the three of them.

"What the hell could be going on down here?" Garrus asked his two companions, confusion in his voice. That question was quickly answered when the three found themselves staring at the large Thorian, which was shaking in pain as another appendage fell from a window.

"The fuck…" Jasmine uttered in horror at the sight and smell of this creature.

Garrus was going to add on to this but he noticed the faint forms of Tali and Ashley running into a room on an upper floor with a group of creepers running behind them.

Garrus then bumped Wrex and pointed to the two females entering the room, causing Wrex to nod.

Garrus looked to Jasmine and gave her a stare before Garrus said "I hope you don't mind Shepard but our teammates are in trouble. We're going to assist them."

Jasmine nodded at this and said "Go ahead. Besides, I think I know who is in the fist fight….Just be careful." Garrus and Wrex nodded before they went their separate ways.

Garrus and Wrex ran to assist Tali and Ashley while Jasmine walked to the area where she was sure her brother was.

* * *

**_Ashley and Tali_**

"God! These creepers don't quit!' Ashley shouted in anger as the bullets from her pistol assaulted the bodies of various Thorian creepers, causing them to crumple to the ground.

"Stupid Bosh'tets!" Tali shouted in return her as her own shotgun screamed to life, shredding apart the remaining creepers apart, leaving twenty-five of the creepers left before them.

The two had been going through the mass army of these creepers for the past several minutes and while they were making headway, they got through the first room easy enough and could barely get through the second room but the third room was heavily guarded and the creepers were more thicker than before.

How were they going to destroy the others?

Ashley kicked a creeper to the ground and shot it once with the pistol in her right hand before she twisted her body and fired three shots at a creeper that was trying to sneak up behind her.

Meanwhile, Tali used her shotgun as a club and swung at the heads of two creepers before twisting the barrel of the gun away from her body and fired three times, sending more creepers to the ground.

Ashley darted back to avoid the reach of several creepers and collided against Tali's back and grumbled "This is never ending Tali...All of my weapons are overheated and have yet to start the cool down phase…"

"As is mine…I have to say. Commander made this sound a lot easier than it really is," Tali told her companion with hint of tiredness. Ashley nodded in agreement and started to weigh their options.

They could either continue to plow through the remaining twenty in this room or try to escape to recharge. But the latter option was shot when the shuffling and moans of the creepers began to pour into the room from behind.

"Shit…Things just got worse," Ashley growled.

"Now I wouldn't say that…" A familiar voice exclaimed and before she knew it, she heard a single grenade hit the ground. Immediately, Ashley grabbed Tali and pushed her behind a wall column to the side of them.

A few seconds later, the grenade exploded, sending many of the creepers that had entered the room flying and splattering the walls of the room.

Through the smoke, Wrex came roaring into the room shoulder first, charging past the two and collided against the five creepers in his way where they turned to paste upon impact of the wall.

Garrus quickly entered the room through the smoke as well with his sniper rifle and began to fire immediately, causing the heads of the creepers to explode upon impact.

Wrex grabbed the heads of the two nearest creepers and slammed them together, flattening them immediately before using his shotgun to take down the next three that were coming towards him.

Garrus turned his body and used his shoulder to hit a creeper back into another one before lifting up his rifle and firing through their heads before twisting his body around and kicking a third creeper into the column where Ashley and Tali quickly came out guns blazing, nailing the rest of the creepers with their cooled down shotguns.

After the last creeper was crushed beneath Wrex's foot, Ashley let out a sigh of relief before she said "Never thought I'd say this but thank god you guys showed up."

"Thank you. Thank you. Far too kind," Garrus said dryly before he noticed Tali aiming her shotgun at the Thorian's appendage and asked "What are you doing?"

"She's about to take the Thorian down another notch, we might want to get ready for the rush…" Ashley said while she slowly snuck outside of the room with her machine gun in hand.

Wrex chuckled and cocked his shotgun and replied "Good…I was hoping I'd get to beat more of those things."

Garrus shook his head and said "Well…Let's hope we aren't biting off more than we can chew."

"After this…I think we will be," Tali responded before firing at the appendage.

* * *

**_Commander Shepard_**

With a grunt, Shepard's back slammed against the wall as the biotic energy evaporated around him which caused him to fall on one knee.

The Asari clone quickly dashed forward and aimed a knee to Shepard's face but Shepard rolled under the knee and swept the Asari off her feet with his leg.

The Asari flipped up on her feet but Shepard's fist collided against her cheek, sending her bouncing off the wall behind her where Shepard leapt up in an attempted to land a superman punch.

The Asari dodged the punch and used her biotics to send Shepard flying backwards onto his back but when Shepard saw her leaping towards him, Shepard rolled to the left to avoid her fist.

Shepard flipped to his feet and caught her right fist and pulled her into a head butt, sending her head whipping backwards before pulling her towards him again to land a solid knee to her stomach before finally pushing her backwards then pulling forwards into a clothesline.

But the clothesline did not connect due to the Asari leaping up when he pulled her forward and wrapping her legs around his head and locking them around him.

The Asari then forced her body to bend backwards to the floor, causing Shepard's feet to leave the ground as he was thrown forward into an empty room where he slammed against a wall.

Shepard fell to the ground and let out a small groan as he lifted himself off the ground and shook his head, his eyes gazing at the Asari walking towards him.

Shepard slammed his fist to the ground and dashed forward and threw three punches towards the Asari's head. The Asari blocked the first two before catching the third fist and tossing Shepard over her shoulder.

The Asari moved her legs around Shepard's extended arm and slammed down on it hard with her knee before she grabbed his neck as hard as possible.

Shepard clawed at the wrist of the Asari to get free but the combination of her grip as well as the sliver of biotic energy around her hand made it all the more worse.

"That's it human…Just expire," The Asari cooed darkly.

But the Asari wasn't paying attention because a boot collided with her face, sending her soaring backwards while simultaneously letting go of Shepard's arm.

"Jeez baby brother, I'm away for three years and this is what I find? You getting your ass handed to you by this dancer turned commando?"

Shepard leaned up and coughed heavily, gasping for air while Jasmine stood next to him, her eyes staring at the downed Asari. "Trust me, if she wasn't a clone and could come back after she got killed, I would have won this a long time ago…" Shepard hacked out before coughing again.

"Ah, so you were keeping the clone busy while the others worked on taking this ugly thing down. Smart…But if it can come back, wouldn't it spawn here?" Jasmine asked.

"No…the clone can spawn anywhere the Thorian touches and which is why I kept her here…Upside is that he can only make one at a time but downside is that I had to hold back so I didn't kill her accidentally and screw up my squad's progress…They have enough to deal with as is," Shepard responded while he stood up on his two feet, his voice now raspy.

Jasmine was honestly surprised by this. Her brother never cared if whatever he was doing had effected his squad in any way.

Had he truly changed during his short time on the Normandy?

"…I'm impressed. Normally you just rush into situations then guess your way out of them but your plan is actually thought out. I'm proud baby brother," Jasmine told him, a proud tone in her voice.

"Thank you, thank you. Far too kind," Shepard responded, his voice now back to normal but something in his chest fluttered when she said those words.

He had heard them a lot during his career but something about how Jasmine said it made him feel proud of himself as well.

Just then, the Thorian roared in agony again as another of its tendril came out from the window but this time, the large mutant plant slinked down slightly.

The Asari looked alarmed by this and almost afraid but that quickly turned into fury.

"Alright…if they are able to take out two more, gravity should do the rest in taking this thing out but we need to keep the Asari in this area," Shepard told his sister while cracking his knuckles.

Jasmine nodded at this and said "I go left, you go right."

Shepard nodded and immediately, the two siblings dashed towards the Asari who instantly summoned her biotics. The Asari took several steps back and used her biotics to throw boxes at the two but Shepard managed to roll under them while Jasmine leapt over them and when she landed, the two siblings continued to advance.

When the two got close to strike Shepard ducked the Asari's right hook and punched her side hard, causing the Asari to stumble to the side where Jasmine's elbow met the Asari's temple.

The Asari quickly blocked a follow up strike from Jasmine and landed a quick kick to Jasmine's midsection before using her leg to block Shepard's own low kick before she threw a punch.

Shepard grabbed her arm and twisted himself behind her where Jasmine quickly moved in front of the Asari and punched her in the face hard. The Asari blocked the second punch and managed to block the kick to her left side but when Shepard twisted her arm, it distorted her focus.

Something Jasmine took advantage for by using the Asari's face, chest and stomach as a punching bag. Having enough, the Asari blocked the punch aimed at her left side and used her biotics to push Jasmine back before she elbowed Shepard in the back of the head.

Shepard's grip loosened slightly from the blow and the Asari took the chance and slipped her arm out of his grasp complete, wrapped both arms around his head and neck and slammed him down to the ground hard.

Seeing this, Jasmine launched herself forward and kneed the Asari in the face, sending both of them tumbling to the side but the two returned to their immediately Jasmine had to block a wild swing to the face from the clone.

Jasmine forced the Asari's arm away to the side and head butted her opponent, causing the Asari to stumble backwards but then the Asari was sent to the ground when both of Jasmine's feet slammed into her chest.

The Asari rolled back onto her feet but it was Shepard's left foot that met her face this time, causing her to once again hit the ground and when she got up, she used her biotics to block the two duel fists of Jasmine and Shepard.

The Asari smirked and forced the two siblings to sail backwards into the air where they skidded to a stop but before they could move forward, the Asari's arms had connected against their necks in a double clothesline.

The Asari fell to her knees while the siblings fell on their backs but as the Asari turned her head to glance at her opponents, a severe pain erupted in her mind as the Thorian skidded down the wall.

Another one of its roots were just taken out.

The Asari quickly rose to her feet and prepared to stop Shepard's squad from advancing by shooting herself in the head to respawn at the next root but she suddenly found herself being nailed in the face by the fists of Shepard and Jasmine.

The Asari slammed against a wall and did not get the chance to recover due to the left knee of Shepard, which collided with her stomach hard enough to causing a spider web crack to form behind her on the wall.

Shepard dashed back and began to rapidly tee off on the Asari, landing solid punches to her face and when she tried to move her head to the side to avoid it, Shepard's left immediately landed against her jaw to put his fists back on track in ruining her face.

After a minute of this torture, the clone quickly found and opening and moved close to clench her opponent and tried to knee him repeatedly in the face but Shepard managed to bloke the majority of the blows from her knees.

And when he found the chance, Shepard broke the clench and forced her arms up in the air and kicked her square in the chest, sending her back against the wall where she rebounded from it and right into his arms where he then lifted her up in the air and slammed her down to the ground face first.

The Asari groaned in pain as she got up to her hands and knees but Jasmine's boots collided with her face, sending the Asari tumbling to the side but the clone got back on her feet where she blocked Jasmine's quick kick to her side and the knee to her midsection and gave her a crisp jab with her left arm.

But Jasmine caught the arm and bent it back hard, causing the Asari to groan in pain where Jasmine then slammed her elbow into the chest of the Asari three times then once in the face while letting her arm go, causing the Asari to stumble backwards.

Seeing the Asari stumble back, Jasmine twisted her body and nailed the clone in the stomach hard, making her stumble right into the path of Shepard, who ran forward then leapt into the air with his right arm cocked and the moment he landed, his fist found her left cheek hard but that was when Shepard her a sharp crack sound.

The Asari crumpled to the ground and melted into brown sludge but before the two could say anything, the sound of pain was heard coming from the Thorian. The two siblings turned their head and saw that another root had been detached and that was all that was needed.

Suddenly, the Thorian began to sink further into the hole, barely being held by its last root and then it snapped, sending the Thorian plummeting to its demise.

All was quiet in the empty area for a few moments before Shepard let out a sigh of relief and fell backwards onto the ground below. "Oh my god…That was so easy…" Shepard said before laughing.

And truth be told, he was correct.

Last time, they were not privy to the clone able to move through the roots of the monster so whenever they defeated her, she always came back and add that with the creepers, this mission was terrible.

But with the help of his team, his memories and his sister, the mission was finally over…And all of the colonist of Zhu's Hope had lived. With all of their needs met.

"You call that easy? She was a bitch to put down," Jasmine said as she plopped next to her younger brother with an exhausted smile.

"Yeah…But I couldn't have done it without you," Shepard said while looking to Jasmine with a smile on his face that reached his eyes, which stunned Jasmine.

She had known Shepard for all of her life but he had never gave her a smile like this before. It…It was truly strange to her but it caused her to smile as well.

"Anytime Rocky…" Jasmine responded before looking up at the ceiling.

Just then, Shepard's omni-tool sprang to life with the shout of "Commander, You need to get up here! We found that Asari you were fighting! Except…she's blue and naked…"

Shepard and Jasmine shared a glance before Shepard looked down at the Omni-tool and said "How about you bring her down here…I'm too sore to move at the moment…"

* * *

Rain: And that is where I will end it. I know this chapter was supposed to be not only the end of Feros and the start of the Liara mission but I decided that the next chapter will have a lot of development for the lot of them and I figure why not that happen while they heal on Feros? So until the next chapter…

Mario: See you next time!


	8. Chapter 8

Rain: Wow, it has been a long time since I updated and I'm so sorry but I am back and ready to continue my tale so sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

Mario: Here we go!

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

**_Chapter Eight: Leaving Feros  
_**

Shepard and Jasmine stared at each other as they stared down at the naked Asari known as Shiala, the same Asari that had caused them so much trouble in the last few minutes.

Shiala explained how she willingly served Saren and Matriarch Benezia and how they had encountered the Thorian and discovered that the ancient alien plant had the Prothean Cipher to help Saren understand the vision he had received from Eden Prime.

She then went on to explain how he convinced the Thorian to accept herself as a sacrifice to its power in order to receive the cipher needed to aid him and once the trade was done, Saren and Benezia had left her at its mercy.

And once everything was said and done, Shiala lowered her head and whispered "Had I known what would befall Matriarch Benezia…I would have fought harder to free her…I have failed at the single mission I was granted…I do not deserve to live."

"What do you mean by that? What happened to Benezia?!" Jasmine asked the Asari with narrowed eyes and a concerned tone in her voice, causing Shepard to glance at her with a bit of alarm and wonder.

"When we first caught wind of Saren's plot, Matriarch Benezia decided that it was her duty to guide him down a less destructive path. Many of her Commandos refused but many of us, myself included went with her because we believed in the cause…" Shiala explained softly while staring up at Jasmine's eyes.

Jasmine shut her eyes and muttered "That sounds like her…But what does she have to do with all of this? Fuck, what is all of this?"

"I'll explain later but we need to know what happened first," Shepard responded to his sister, wondering how she knew the Matriarch.

"When we arrived, Benezia and the rest of us pretended to want the same unknown goal he wanted and at first things had gone well…But soon our minds began to sway to his will until we were willing to sacrifice our lives to secure success for him…Matriarch Benezia went there to save him but soon became his second in command…As well as his lover…"

Jasmine's eyes widened in horror at this and took a step forward to Shiala and said "That cannot be true; she took a vow to never share a bed with another."

"She broke that vow…She broke many vows she had made…And I was powerless to stop it…" Shiala whispered with a broken tone as she lowered her head again.

"I…I can't believe this," Jasmine growled out before she stormed away and walked off angrily, causing the entire team to watch her leave in alarm.

Shepard knew that he would need to speak to her about how she knew Benezia but that will come later. Right now, he had a different issue to tackle first and that was the broken Asari kneeling before him.

Shiala glanced toward Shepard and said "I-I was hand-picked to be her second in command and I made it my vow to watch after her…To protect her but I failed…and for that, I do not deserve to live…I wish for you to take my life to atone for my failures to Benezia and for working with the Thorian and Saren…All I ask is that you make my death swift as the wind to the heavens."

Shepard glanced at her with conflict in his eyes. In his own time, he wasted no time in slaying the Asari before him and had no second thoughts about it but now it was different.

He was in a new time and obviously from her words, she was different from the indifferent Shiala of his time. She seemed to show remorse for failing Benezia as well as helping Saren and the Thorian.

And also, he wasn't as blind as he was back then either. She was indoctrinated by the Reaper as well as the Thorian and he could not hold that against her.

"You were not of your right mind when you failed in your duties to Benezia. You were not in your right mind when you worked for the Thorian and Saren," Shepard said after a moment of thought.

Shiala looked up at him in alarm at his words but Shepard continued to speak. "I could kill you now and not think about it but I know that killing you because of what they put you through would be murder and that is not who I am."

"But I must die…I have done nothing but evil! I have lied, stole, tortured and killed many that Saren and Matriarch Benezia asked of me. I must die to atone for the atrocities I've committed!" Shiala exclaimed, her tone pleading. Shepard stared at her as she lowered her head, bitter tears falling down her cheeks and eyed her down before removing his pistol from its holster and tossed it at her feet.

"I know how you feel…I have done many things in my life that I regret and I know I must atone for but if you feel that you dying will fix that, then end it yourself," Shepard told her with a understanding look.

"T-Then what must I do?" Shiala whispered weakly. "Live with this guilt in my heart?"

"That I cannot tell you Shiala, that is something only you can decide. If you truly feel that death will redeem you, my pistol is in your hands for you to do it…But if you don't, I believe there are some colonists that need help getting over their indoctrination and may need someone like you to help them. It's your choice to make."

Shepard motioned for his team and his sister to follow him out to leave the lost Asari alone with her thoughts.

But as the team walked away, Ashley looked at Shepard and asked "I don't get it Commander, You could have done it. I mean she was asking for you to kill her."

"Yes but everyone deserves a second chance, I know that more than anyone else," Shepard told the woman to his left before looking ahead and continued to walk.

* * *

**_Zhu's Hope Medical Bay_**

**_Kaidan Alenko and Lizbeth Baynham_**

"Wow, so you're ship was created by the alliance and the Turian hierarchy? That is amazing," Lizbeth said in wonder as she placed a cold towel of the head of Fai Dan.

Kaidan and Lizbeth had been placing all of the colonists into the medical bay of Zhu's Hope since they used the Medi-gel on the wounded fighters and thankfully, they were able to fit all of the colonists within the room but the two were becoming exhausted.

But thankfully, Fai Dan was the final one they had to move and the moment that cold towel was on his sweating forehead, the two let out a breath, glad that their job was finished.

"Yeah, our ship is the work of both human and turian technology. It's amazing. Especially once it hits the mass relay," Kaidan replied with a small chuckle.

He was rather surprised at how easy it was to speak to Lizbeth about his himself. He blamed it on her curious yet pleasant personality.

"I'd love to see that. I hadn't been off of Feros for a few years now so I don't exactly remember the last time I actually left this place," Lizbeth said as she stopped in the middle of the bridge, causing Kaidan to stop beside her.

"Is that a hint?" Kaidan asked jokingly after tossing her a cold water bottle from out of the refrigerator that was nearby.

Lizbeth laughed at this and asked "Did you catch it?"

Kaidan snorted and sat down on an empty chair and kicked one over to her, which she caught and sat down across from him. "God that feels good. I didn't realize how much we ran around until I just sat down."

"You think that's worse? You should have been here when we went around the damn Citadel. We were in more than a few firefights there," Kaidan cracked a small grin as a look of shock appeared on Lizbeth's face.

"You guys got into a fight on the Citadel?! And you didn't get kicked off?!" Lizbeth asked in amazement, causing the grin on Kaidan's face to grow.

"Oh yeah. If you want, I can tell you all about it," Kaidan stated before taking a sip of his own cold water.

"I'd love to hear more about it Kaidan."

* * *

**_Flashback_**

**_Jasmine Shepard_**

_"Do not move child."_

_Jasmine groaned out in agony as her eyes flickered open briefly to see the radiant blue eyes of an Asari staring down at her with fear within them._

_"W-What's hap-happening? Who a-are you?" Jasmine slurred as she tried to keep her eyes open on the Asari before her. Her vision blurred as the Asari placed a cold towel on her forehead._

_"My name is Matriarch Benezia and you were poisoned child. I found you unconscious on the street," The Asari whispered gently before she added "Now I want you to rest child and I will take care of you."_

_Jasmine tried to focus a little more, wanting to see a non-blurry version of the person helping her but soon Jasmine drifted into unconsciousness._

**_End Flashback_**

* * *

Jasmine opened her eyes when she heard multiple footsteps entering the hanger from her left and once she turned her head, she saw Shepard and his crew within the hanger coming her way.

Shepard jogged up to her Jasmine and asked once he was with her "Why did you run out like that?" Jasmine pushed herself off of the door of the Normandy and said looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

"I had to get out of there…I couldn't believe what Shiala was saying about Matriarch Benezia," Jasmine muttered as she stared at Shepard. "Rocky, Benezia would never do what Shiala accused of her and I'll be damned if it was true."

Shepard was silent for seemingly an eternity before he replied "I can't force you to believe in something you don't Jasmine."

"Then why would she say that?" Jasmine asked her brother with narrowed eyes. "Why is she with Saren? How and why did Saren get control of the Geth? What did my crew die for? Just what the hell is going on?"

Shepard let out an exhausted sigh and said "I will answer all of your questions Jasmine but right now, I think we all need some rest."

Jasmine nodded, albeit reluctantly and said "Alright…Do you have a spare room in this giant ship?"

Shepard merely smiled and walked through the door with Jasmine behind him.

* * *

**_Zhu's Hope _**

**_Two days later_**

"I cannot thank you all enough for what you have done for us in the last few days…" Fai Dan said with a wide smile on his face.

Shepard and his crew, along with Lizbeth stood in front of the colonist. Even though it took a two more days since the attack and a lot of Medi-gel, all of the colonists would make a vast recovery.

"Just doing what anyone else would do in our situation, No thanks required," Shepard said with a small smile on his face before he added "But now that the Thorian is dead, the Geth are gone, the various issues that colony had are fixed and now that you have the additional help of Shiala…I know that this colony will flourish to its greatest potential."

Fai Dan nodded and turned his head to Shiala, who gave a nod and a gentle smile. After Shepard had left Shiala had thought long and hard about what she would do and in the end, she was unable to take her life.

She decided that Zhu's hope would need her and she would dedicate herself in helping them any way she could.

When she told Shepard of this, the Commander merely smiled and told her that he was proud of her decision. When she asked why, Shepard only had these words to say…

_"Everyone deserves a second chance. I was granted one and I would be damned if I took that chance away from anyone else." _

"Shepard…I don't know what we did to deserve your help along with your crew…But we thank all of you for this…For allowing us a second chance…May the goddess bless you on your quest to stop Saren," Shiala said with a small bow before she and the rest of the colony left, leaving Shepard's team, Jasmine and Lizbeth alone.

"So…What happens now?" Kaidan asked once the colonist where fully gone.

"Simple, we continue to follow the leads Captain Anderson gave us," Shepard said with a nod before turning to Jasmine, who had been strangely quiet and asked "So what will you do?"

During the three days of rest, Shepard explained all that had happened from Eden Prime to before the mission to Feros and Jasmine was stunned by all that he and his crew were dealing with and were ready to deal with.

He then decided to ask her if she wanted to join his crew to stop Saren.

He knew that this universe was far different than his own and he would need all the help he could get. Hell, he had offered Lizbeth a chance to join as well due to her skills at making more effective healing items, which would no doubt help them during their battle.

She accepted his request to join without any hesitation surprisingly but Shepard has a sneaking suspicion that she accepted this request not because of him…But for a certain Biotic user who she was friendly with.

But it was now the third day and Jasmine still hadn't given him an answer and it was worrying him a little bit. He knew that she had just lost her crew and considering she was the captain of her ship, the Titan, he understood that going from leader to second-in-command would be rough.

But there was something else that was bothering him.

Her relationship with Matriarch Benezia.

She never told him how she knew the Asari nor why she meant so much to her but when he played the message Tali had pulled off of a destroyed Geth, Jasmine looked as if someone struck her in the stomach.

It was then he threw in the incentive that if she joined, they would try to help the Matriarch and he wasn't lying. He knew that Liara had taken her death truly hard when her mother died in his time and that was something that bothered him.

But now he had another chance to help the Matriarch, if nothing more to help Liara and now Jasmine. But that bought on a new situation for him to figure out.

Jasmine knew Benezia. That much was obvious and yet she had no idea who Liara was and was surprised at the fact that Benezia had a daughter in the first place.

Just another incentive to get her to join his crew.

He had given her time to think about it but now his team was ready to go and he was ready for a choice from her.

Jasmine looked at her brother and said "My team died because of Saren's bullshit and he also has Matriarch Benezia under his control. I need to save her and you are my key to fulfilling that goal and besides, you think I could walk away after knowing my little brother is going against such odds? No way. I'm in."

Shepard smirked and said to his team "Then team, we have a mission to complete. Let's move out!"

* * *

Rain: And that is where I will end it for now. I know it's a little weird that I skipped over two days but trust me, the next chapter will have quite a bit of bonding for the team. So until the next chapter…

Mario: See you next!


	9. Chapter 9

Rain: Wow…It has been a while but I am back and ready to continue this fic. This will now enter into the "Rescue Liara" arc of this tale and I really hope you guys enjoy it so have fun and read on!

Mario: Here we go!

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

**_Chapter Nine: Partner assignment_**

"So here we are again…" Shepard announced as he sat down, his hood lifted above his head as he glanced at his team. "We have two newcomers in Lizbeth, our new resident scientist that will be working mostly on developing healing items and special grenades for us."

Lizbeth waved sheepishly beside Kaidan, who looked pleased with this.

"And…We have the hero of the Skyllian Blitz. Jasmine Shepard," Shepard continued as he smiled at his sister, who raised her coffee mug with a smile on her face.

"Now, The mission on Feros was a success and a failure at the same time. We managed to save the colonist but we were too late in saving the crew of the Titan, on the exception of Jasmine…I want our next mission, regardless of which one it is, to be a complete and total success," Shepard said with a serious edge to his voice.

"Now…We are now at our two choices. We can either find Doctor Liara T'Soni, The daughter of Matriarch Benezia and an expert on the Protheans. She was last seen in the Knossos system but then she suddenly went missing."

"Or…We can go to Noveria and investigate the sightings of Matriarch Benezia. I leave this up to all of you," Shepard announced before he leaned back in his chair.

The last time he left this choice to them, they were at an impasse but now that Feros was complete, they would need to make a choice soon.

He let the team soak this in for a moment and once he felt that it was time to continue, he saw Kaidan raise his hand and with a nod of approval, Kaidan said "As I stated before Feros, we should go to Noveria. If we can find Benezia, she might be able to tell us where Saren is hiding."

"And as I said before, I think that's a setup," Garrus replied, shaking his head at Kaidan's opinion. "Saren would know we would go after her first and may have tons of Geth to aid her. We should instead find her daughter, Dr. T'Soni. She could have valuable information about Saren and plus, she's a Prothean expert, we might need her."

Wrex bobbed his head at this and replied "Seems like the scuttle bone once again has a good point. I'm still on the ship that wants to go save that doctor," with a rough but humored tone, which caused Garrus' mandibles to twitch in annoyance as he mumbled _"Don't call me that."_

Ashley snorted at this and said "Is there an echo in here? Because we have heard all of this before so….I will repeat myself as well. Dr. T'Soni could be working for Saren. I mean her mother is on his side, like the Asari on Feros revealed to us so why wouldn't she side with them? I think we should go after Benezia herself. This way, we can ask her personally if Dr. T'Soni is on her side or not."

Jasmine nodded in agreement at this and said "So in short, regardless of what he choose, our winning pick could be a trap?"

"Sounds like it but I'd rather we go to Knossos," Lizbeth stated. "I mean, that could be an innocent person down there."

"I a-agree with you Lizbeth," Tali stated with a small nod to the young scientist's way. "But again, I also agree with Ashley, Commander. Knossos is a planet that isn't inhabited by life while Noveria is. As long as the Geth reign where any form of life nearby, they won't stop in killing anything in their path. And while we're there, we can prove Dr. T'Soni's innocence through i-interrogating Benezia if we go there first."

Shepard smiled at this.

He was not only glad that she had put her opinion into this but he was happy to see Ashley's eyes light up at someone agreeing with her but then that smile of his was wiped off of his face when he heard Garrus' next words.

"Yeah, they wouldn't be however if your species hadn't created them in the first place," Garrus drawled out with a shrug and closed eyes, missing the sharp look Shepard had given him.

Tali let out a soft sigh, not even bothering to respond to Garrus.

Ashley however, did not like that attack to Tali and quickly stood up from her chair and pointed to Garrus and yelled "Who do you think you are to say something like that? Like you and your species are so pure and innocent?"

"I say it only because it is true. Had the Quarians not created the Geth, Saren wouldn't have his army and Eden Prime would still be a peaceful planet instead of being ruins," The Turian replied while glancing at her lazily, making Ashley bristle in anger.

"Oh, and I guess that the Quarians got off light huh? Being exiled from their planet, out casted by the Council species, and being trapped in those suits for the rest of their lives? And not only that, they're entire species are treated like vagabonds and thieves. You can sit there and act like your shit doesn't stink but it does Turian," Ashley exclaimed in anger.

Garrus' mandibles click in anger as he and Ashley gave each other a harsh glare which was only broken but Jasmine's yell of "Enough!"

Ashley and Garrus stopped their stare off and all eyes were on the Skyllian Blitz hero. "Look, the entire universe is in our hands right now. We don't have time to bicker amongst each other while Saren is out there causing havoc. We are dealing with a Asari, whether it is the mother or daughter. You want my opinion, Rocky?"

Shepard nodded, his eyes focused on his sister's anger filled ones.

"We go to Dr. T'Soni. She disappeared under mysterious circumstances in the Knossos system and as soldiers, mercenaries and C-sec officers; we know what that could mean. There were also reports of Geth searching for something in that system. Therefore, this could be a rescue mission. Just like Feros," Jasmine finished with a cross of her arms.

Shepard smiled, clearly knowing that his sister was correct in her assumption due to his history and said "Very well, we go to the Knossos system to find the doctor. Best case, she is innocent and this is a rescue mission. Worst case, we're walking into a trap that we will need to spring. Understood team?"

The group nodded at this, albeit reluctantly in Kaidan's and Ashley's cases.

"Good. Now that we have that covered, It's time I start on our Unity training," Shepard said with a clap, causing a round of groans to leave the lips of Ashley and Garrus, which caused Shepard to smirk. "Aww, don't be like that you two. This will be a great learning exercise and a good teambuilding one as well."

Shepard stood up and gave a small stretch and pulled out handcuffs and said "And since you two decided to open your mouths, you two will be going first. Step up and receive your first assignment!"

Garrus and Ashley stepped up and with a grin, Shepard said "Garrus, your left arm. Ashley, your right one." The two teammates lifted up their respective arms and Shepard clasped the thick ebony covered handcuffs around the wrists of the two.

"We won't get to the Knossos system until three days from now. Until then, you two will be strapped together. With the sole exception of bathroom use, training and shower use. I already had your bunks moved together as well. Anytime you have to separate, you page me to let me know of it. If you two separate without me knowing…" Shepard let an evil smirk appear on his face.

"You won't like it," Shepard finished before he slipped his hands into his pockets. Garrus looked crushed while Ashley muttered swears underneath her breath. "Now go on and have a good time. Don't forget!"

Garrus and Ashley left the room but when they tried to leave, the two got stuck in the door briefly before the two got through the meeting room door and just as the door closed, the team watched as the two argued about which way they would go.

"I see your evil streak is alive and well," Jasmine noted with a proud tone in her voice. "Did you really need the handcuffs though?"

"I did. They will either kill each other or become best friends," Shepard replied before he heard Wrex laugh loudly, making Shepard all too aware about what he believed will turn out between the two.

"I'm glad you find it funny Wrex and I am really glad you spoke big sister because you two are next," Shepard announced while he held up another set of handcuffs, causing the laughter of Wrex and the proud look on Jasmine's face to disappear immediately.

"Are you joking Rocky?" Jasmine asked with a look of disbelief on her face. "I m-mean you have to be. No offense Krogan but you look like you will squish me without trying."

"No offense taken. In fact, I agree. You humans are very squishy and weak," Wrex stated with a frown on his face, clearly not wanting to do the exercise.

"Well guess what, I don't care. You two will have to manage," Shepard said sternly before adding "Now get up here. The faster you do this, the faster it can end." Wrex and Jasmine walked to Shepard, both of their faces emotionless but their eyes promised pain to the Commander but he did not care.

He was going to get them to be united whether it's as easy as 1-2-3 or if he had to drag them into it kicking and screaming. "Alright. Now have fun you two," Shepard said with a grin as he motioned for them to leave the room.

Unlike Garrus and Ashley, who forced their way out of the room and argued about where to go, Jasmine and Wrex seemed to be on the same page when Jasmine let Wrex go out the door first before Jasmine followed suit before they both turned right.

"And then there were three…" Shepard said with a knowing smirk on his face. "Now, I know you two have taken a shine to each other so I decided to keep you both together," Shepard said to Kaidan and Lizbeth, both who blushed at his teasing tone.

Shepard tossed the next set of handcuffs to the two and said to them "Now I do expect you Kaidan to teach Lizbeth all she needs about weapons and Lizbeth, you will teach Kaidan all you know as well and then combine your knowledge. Have fun."

Kaidan and Lizbeth left the room a lot happier than the last two pairs had been but now there was only two people left in the room and Shepard could tell how nervous the final female was about this. "Tali…Step forward," Shepard said gently while cuffing his left hand.

Tali nervously walked forward and stood before her captain, her eyes darting side to side nervously but unlike the teasing tone Shepard had for the last three pairs, Shepard's voice was soft and gentle as he said "Tali, I chose you to be my partner in this experiment for one reason. I need you to be stronger than how you are now."

"S-Stronger? Like h-how Commander?" Tali stuttered softly, her silver colored eyes glancing at his face.

Shepard took a small breath, willing himself not to falter underneath her cute eyes and said "Like that for example. For the next three days, we are going to toughen you up to be a powerful warrior. Everything from getting the stutter from your voice to showing confidence with your body movements…b-but in turn…" Shepard turned his head to the side, clearly not wanting to say these next words.

He knew that once he said them, he wouldn't be able to take them back.

But did he want to at this point?

No…He didn't.

He never got a chance until it was far too late to learn more about her culture and now was the perfect time to do so.

"I want…I want to learn more about you and your culture. From the tiniest facts like what the veils are for and the bigger ones like how you all train…I want to know about you…" Shepard said, hoping his voice sounded strong, despite how weak he felt saying it.

He could tell from how wide Tali's eyes were that she wasn't expecting that to come out of his mouth. "I-I-I would l-love too..." Tali stuttered bashfully, her eyes smiling up at him.

And with that, Shepard felt himself fall a little bit in love.

* * *

Rain: And that is the end of this chapter. Did you guys enjoy it? If so, leave that review and thank you for your time. Until the next chapter!

Mario: See you next time!


	10. Chapter 10

Rain: Here is another chapter for you guys. Took a little long but I think you guys will like it so sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

Mario: Here we go!

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

**_Chapter Ten: Issues_**

"Well, it could've been worst. Garrus and Ashley could have gotten into a gunfight right then and there had you not been at the meeting, Shepard."

Joker could only look at Shepard with a small grin on his face after giving his opinion. Kaidan and Lizbeth had told him all that had gone down in the meeting from the day before and Joker had to admit, he found the entire story hilarious.

Not too hilarious though because he preferred having his baby in one shape and not filled with bullet holes. "I also have to say, you have your work cut out for you. I mean, this whole situation is very weird. You can't expect teamwork on the first shot Commander. Especially from those two."

"You know, Wrex said the same thing but I know it'll get better," Shepard replied with an exhausted sigh.

"So where is Tali? Kaidan told me that he saw you two cuffed together and as I remember his words from being paired with Lizbeth, 'You can't ever be uncuffed from your Unity Partner'," Joker told him with a curious look on his face.

Shepard merely crossed his arms in looked at the ceiling and said "Well, I had to uncuff Tali so I can let you know of our next location and also to let her rest. She…Well **we** spent the entire night working with Engine room with Adams."

Shepard couldn't help but be a little disappointed by that event. He thought she would just jump in and talk about her and her race but instead, he found himself to be the third wheel to her and Engineer Adams.

He understood that this ship needed her to work in the engine room but he was hoping that he could get started with their training and hopefully, their bonding into something more…But maybe he was jumping the gun.

He was so used to everyone being roughly the same in this time period that he forgot that this wasn't his crew from his time..

This wasn't the Tali from his time.

This wasn't the outgoing, snarky, dangerous, brave and goofy Tali from his time period. This Tali was more hesitant to speak her mind. She was more nervous around others and crippling shy towards him.

Even the Tali from his time was a bit slow to speak about her race and customs at first before he showed genuine interest in her first so maybe he should start off light and talk about her likes and dislikes first before delving into something so deep and private with her.

But also, he should choose a better location to have those types of discussion so he doesn't have to share her with Adams.

"Jeez Commander, no wonder you look so exhausted. You better get some rest sometime today. Otherwise Chakwas is going to have your ass on a platter," Joker replied with a frown on his face.

Shepard waved off his words and said "I'll sleep when I'm dead. Meanwhile, I want you to take us to the Knossos system, which somewhere is in the Artemis Tau Cluster. Try and find the dull red, earth like planet."

"Yeah, I think I know where the Knossos system is Commander but do you mean the planet Therum? If my memory serves me right, that's the only planet that looks like that," Joker replied with a serious look on his face.

"And that is why I have you around Joker. You know space like the back of your hand," Shepard said as he patted Joker's shoulder good naturedly while also making sure to be gentle with it due to Joker's brittle bone disease known as Vrolik Syndrome.

Walking away to let Joker get to their location, Shepard was walking down the long hallway when his he felt a piercing stab within his head, which caused his vision to blur and his body to shake.

Shepard panted heavily as shut his eyes.

Maybe Joker was right.

He should get some rest.

This headache he has felt like someone was stabbing him in the head repeatedly with a screwdriver. But had Shepard been paying attention, he would have Tali was coming his way and the moment he did, his body slammed into hers, sending her falling to the floor.

"Ow," Was the word that came from Tali's mouth as she bounced on the floor lightly, a pouting tone in her voice which nearly made Shepard smile in amusement but then he placed his hand in front of her, letting a small "Are you ok?" leave his lips.

He watched as she tilted her head at his hand in front of her before placing her smaller, three fingered one into his and let him pull her up where she answered with "I'll be o-k Commander. I was a-actually looking for you."

"Me?" Shepard asked with a confused tone in his voice.

Tali nodded and said "Yes. I woke up in your room and you were uncuffed from me and I waited for a little while but when you didn't come back, I came out to find you and to see if you were ok."

"So was that all you came looking for me for?" Shepard asked with a tilt of his head, thinking that was the only thing she needed but when she shook her head, he was a little confused.

"I wanted to apologize for yesterday…Well….This morning…" Tali responded, her hands clenching and unclenching, something Shepard knew as a nervous tick from the Tali from his time.

_'Some things do stay the same…' _Shepard thought to himself with a small chuckle but Shepard was still confused.

Why was she apologizing about yesterday? He didn't voice this however. He instead waited for her to continue which he didn't have to wait long. "Well, one of the reasons you chose me to be cuffed to was because you wanted to know more about me and the Quarians…I-I wish I could say I was ignoring you because we were s-so busy but…I would be lying…"

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked, despite having a good feeling what she was going to say next.

And he was quickly proven right when she stuttered out "T-The truth is that I can't a-abide to our Unity training…I'm n-not comfortable revealing everything about my race towards you….I just feel horrible because you've b-been so kind to m-me and yet I can't e-even do this for y-you…"

Shepard stared at her for a moment before he let out a soft laugh before he said "If anything, it should be me apologizing instead of you."

He could tell that Tali was stunned by his admission by how round her silver-white eyes had become behind her visor but before she said anything, Shepard decided to push forward.

"Tali…I expected far too much on our first day cuffed together. I expected to just have you start talking about everything you are without thinking about how you would feel. I know that I requested to be with you to learn more about you and I was wrong to do that…"

"But I was still wrong as well Commander," Tali said gently, her eyes looking down at the ground beneath her arms.

"You stayed up the entire night with me as I worked down there and I barely paid attention to you because I was too uncomfortable to talk to you about it…You are my captain for Keelah's sake! I should have been paying more attention to you and our Unity training you implemented…I wish I-I was stronger. I could have told you how I f-felt about it instead of dragging y-you around…"

Shepard let a small but gentle smile appear on his face as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, causing Tali's eyes to look at him in surprise and that was when he said "Tali…There are many things I can teach you…I can teach you how to calm your nerves through a mission. I can teach you more about firearms and to hone your skills to the point that you can shoot a soda can off my head from three miles with a pistol…I can even teach you how to cope when someone dies, whether an enemy or an ally. But I can't teach you how to trust in others."

Shepard felt another horrendous stab in his head, which made him pause momentarily to focus more on Tali before he said "I want to learn about you, Unity training or not. But I want that to happen once you are more comfortable with everything here. Me included. So please, take your time…I'm not going anywhere."

He saw Tali look into his eyes while narrowing her own, as if she was trying to pry a lie through his eyes but after a moment, she nodded and looked away from him while mumbling a faint but sincere tone in her voice "Thank you C-Commander…I p-promise I'll come to you when I'm ready..."

Shepard merely smiled at this and went to say something else but then his vision began to sway violently, causing his knees to buckle.

Shepard braced himself against the door that led to the containment he felt a piercing stab within his head, which caused his vision to blur and his body to shake.

Shepard braced himself against the door that led to the containment bay as another stab forced him down to one knee. Shepard gripped his head tighter.

**_"You will fail!"_** The voice rang into his head, causing Shepard to grit his teeth as more pain assaulted him to the point where he was seeing flashes of white lights.

"Commander, are you ok?!" Tali asked, her hand touching his chest as another pang of agonizing pain ripped through his mind. **_"You can't hide for long!"_** The booming voice shouted and without any further words, Shepard suddenly collapsed face first in the hall.

All while Tali's worried scream of "Shepard!" echoed around him.

* * *

**_The Normandy_**

**_Mess Hall_**

"Wow, you guys look like crap."

Garrus and Ashley glared at Jasmine with enough anger to fuel the Normandy before that anger melted away, their faces revealing how exhausted they truly were.

The first night of their…Unity had been interesting to say the least.

The moment the two left the conference room, they had been at each other's throats and that didn't end throughout the day. Garrus wanted to spend his time in the garage, calibrating the Mako while she wanted to get some sniper training in.

Garrus had to open his big mouth and say _"You, a sniper? Please. That's like me wielding that crude Shotgun you love to wield. A sniper rifle requires finesse to use and you have none of that."_

It took all of her might not to crush the arrogant bastard with her "crude" shotgun. He continued to be an annoying idiot when the two of them went to bed. While she tried to put her hair up, he insisted on doing the stretching ritual of the "mighty" Turians.

And he had the nerve to be angry at her when she did stretches he had done while he was trying to calibrate his sniper rifle.

Hypocrisy!

"Well it's not easy dealing with this ass-munch all night," Ashley stated with narrowed eyes, clearly not pleased by the smirking Skyllian Blitz hero.

"Now I take offense to that," Garrus said with a glare to the woman cuffed next to him. "I wasn't the one who woke you up with that horrendous thing you call _singing_."

Ashley face heated up angrily at his remark and said "I know how to sing!"

Garrus face took on a blank look as he asked "Oh really? Because this is what I woke up to this morning…" seconds later, Garrus opened his mouth and sang "_I-I-I-I-I'M HOOKED ON A FEELING! I'M HIGH ON BELIEVING…THAT YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH ME!"_

Jasmine and Wrex couldn't stop from laughing while Ashley had a mortified look on her face. He made her voice all…pre-teen boy sounding with cracking and everything. Ashley gritted her teeth and balled up her fist, ready and willing to strike his loud mouth but before she could, she suddenly smirked.

"So...You want talk embarrassing eh…Well why don't you tell these two about Arietta?" Ashley let a toothy grin appear on her face as the laughing Garrus quickly become the coughing and wheezing Garrus.

"Yes Turian. Tell us about this…Arietta," Wrex demanded with a grin on his face, enjoying the embarrassed look on that was on the Turian's face.

"How did you…" Garrus asked the smirking soldier beside him.

Ashley leaned back in her chair and said "You have a really bad habit of sleeping talking. Might wanna calibrate that."

Garrus growled down at the soldier, before his eyes glanced down at her chair, which was on its hind legs as Ashley leaned back on it, clearly enjoying her victory over him.

For a moment, he wanted to kick the chair from beneath her and let her tumble to the floor but he then shook his head.

Despite his dislike for the human beside him, he couldn't allow himself to stoop to such a low level. His ancestors would be ashamed of him even thinking of doing something like that.

Just then, the laughing pair of Kaidan and Lizbeth came walking into the room and sat beside the low morale forms of Garrus and Ashley with a shared "Hey guys."

Jasmine and Wrex gave a nod at their welcome with Ashley and Garrus gave a small grunt, causing an amused grin to appear on Kaidan's face. "I see you two are in high spirits," Kaidan said with an sarcastic drawl as he sat his tray of food on the table and sat down with Lizbeth at his side.

"They didn't have a good night being partners," Jasmine responded with a small chuckle, causing Ashley and Garrus to grunt once again but while the former only muttered "Bite me Shepard," the latter of the two glanced at Jasmine and Wrex and realized something.

Jasmine and Wrex were in the same predicament they were and yet they looked completely calm together. Granted, there was no bad blood between them but it still surprised him a bit. "So," Garrus started with a small cough. "How are you two doing as cuff-mates?"

Wrex was the first one to answer. "She's alright. She's still squashy but she's easy to get along with. Might be due to her spending time with Krogan before she met me."

The three humans and the sole Turian turned to Jasmine to elaborate further on her involvement with the Krogan race.

Jasmine saw the looks on their faces and merely took a sip of her coffee and said "I had a mission once that had me team up with a Krogan squad. They were pretty much like jocks in highschool. They thought they were the shit and I had to force them to realize that I was the one in charge. Wasn't easy though."

Wrex nodded then let out a laugh. "She challenged them to a fight. One on three. They didn't back down of course due to not wanting shame themselves but from what Jasmine told me, she had to use her head to defeat them."

"Now how did that work out?" Ashley asked, clearly interested in how the Hero of the Skyllian Blitz defeated three fully grown Krogans.

"Well…The challenge was simple. Since I was a "squishy flesh female", they gave me 24 hours to defeat them all in combat at any time I desired. So the three days before the day of the challenge, I stalked all three of them to learn their schedules. When they might be the weakest..."

Jasmine paused to take another sip of her coffee and murmured "That's the stuff," before she spoke up and said "The first Krogan, Jayck had a huge problem with needing his Asari "Assistant" so he was the first one I targeted. I waited until 5 o'clock in the morning for him to sneak off to meet his Asari friend and during this time, he was thinking with his quad and not with his head. So he didn't expect me to fall from the shadows on his head and forcibly steer him into the lake nearby."

"And Krogans cannot swim well," Wrex added with an amused smirk on his face.

"But this one did know how but the moment he got out, I dazed his ass with a grenade and knocked him out with a club that was created just for taking our Krogan enemies. I called it "Shield Breaker"…I certainly miss that thing," Jasmine said, her tone become wistful at her lost weapon.

"Yeah, from what she told me, she took that "Shield Breaker" from the second Krogan's room," Wrex said with a low laugh.

"Oh yeah, he was infuriated when I used it on him next," Jasmine added with a grin. "Tayx, the second Krogan, was more of the cerebral of the three. He had many, many weapons for all the races in citadel space and outside of it. All of them deadly. I knew that he spent three hours cleaning and sharpening his weapons. When he noticed "Shield Breaker" missing, he was infuriated."

Jasmine then laughed loudly as she said "He didn't even hesitate to run out of his room and when he did, I busted him in the quad and in the face, knocking him out cold!"

Wrex guffawed at this, obviously amused but Garrus and Kaidan were not. Jasmine had played a dangerous game with the two of them and they didn't even want to know how she defeated the third one.

Lizbeth and Ashley on the other hand was in clear awe of the fact they Jasmine Shepard was able to take out two Krogan, despite the kind of underhanded why she had done it but they wanted to know how she would defeat the third one.

"The last one was the leader of the bunch and he was rather difficult. He meditated, trained and slept. That was all he did. I decided to just face him head on with my breaker," Jasmine said with a proud grin on her face.

"You fought a Krogan head on?!" Garrus and Kaidan exclaimed in surprise while Ashley and Lizbeth looked stunned beside them. "Do you know how dangerous that is? Krogan are the strongest species there are in Citadel space and you fought on head on?" Garrus asked, truly wondering if this human was insane.

"Seriously, you could have been killed!" Kaidan exclaimed, also wondering if the famed Jasmine Shepard was truly crazy.

"I'm the hero of the Skyllian Blitz you two," Jasmine said with a coy smirk and a wink before adding "I've been known to do daring things in my time and that will only continue. Besides, it was pretty damn close. Vikas was truly a tough Krogan. He was fierce and skilled. I really had to choice my strikes wisely."

"So did you beat him in the end?" Ashley asked with a frown. I mean, surely she was alive to tell the tale but that didn't mean that Ashley would assume she had won the battle.

"Well it was close but in the end, we wound up in a draw," Jasmine said, her tone voicing her disappointment by that fact. "But because of that, I earned not only his respect, but the respect of the other two Krogan and managed to complete the mission with success."

Wrex chuckled loudly and said "Not many humans I know are daring enough to battle and gain the respect of my brethren but this one managed to do it."

"Krogan aren't hard to fight, if you know where their weak spots lie. Nor are they hard to understand when they are friendly," Jasmine stated while sitting down her empty mug before adding "It's something I plan to show when Wrex and I spar today."

"Great…This should be fun to watch," Ashley said with a grin on her face while Garrus shared her sentiment by chuckling softly but the former of the two then asked "But what I really want to know is how you guys sleep. I know it isn't easy sharing a bed with a Krogan."

Jasmine and Wrex suddenly became very silent, both of them avoiding eye contact with the remaining four but it was Jasmine who said "I'd…Rather not talk about it."

"Yeah…It's nothing you should know," Wrex added before coughing lightly. Ashley and Garrus actually glanced at each other and before the pair stared back at Wrex and Jasmine before immediately looking towards the also confused pair of Kaidan and Lizbeth.

"So…How about you two? How is being cuff-mates going?" Garrus asked quickly, trying to shake the awkward feeling from the air.

Lizbeth's eyes twinkled in excitement while Kaidan suddenly became pale, making the four of them stare at the pair in concern. "Well things are going fantastic! Kaidan has been one of the best partners I could ever have. He's so sweet and kind and very smart too."

_'Not to mention very cute,'_ Lizbeth added in her head with an inward giggle. "To make things even better, he agreed to be my test subject for my potions!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up a second," Ashley said to Lizbeth. "You managed to convince Kaidan to be your test subject for these…potions?"

"Yeah. He didn't see the harm in them at first but after last night…." Lizbeth suddenly stopped, her ears burning in embarrassment.

Kaidan grimaced and muttered "That was fun to do...Lizbeth told me that this "potion" of hers would replenish lost energy. Not only physical and mental, but even my biotic energy. We spent most of yesterday working me to the ground before she gave it to me….The after effects pretty much had me up half the night with enough energy in me to fight an army of Geth."

"Well…I wasn't expecting it to have a strong effect on you," Lizbeth responded rather meekly but then she strengthened her voice to add "But I'll work out the kinks for it soon. I'm also working on strengthening the Medi-gel as well so it could heal more severe wounds."

"Well I'm sure we'll need that sooner rather than later," Ashley quipped before she realized that Shepard and Tali were missing from their little morning chat. "Hmm…I wonder where Shepard and Tali are," Ashley said out loud with a curious expression on her face.

"Knowing Rocky, he would be training in the gym and dragging that poor Quarian along with him," Jasmine stated with a laugh but not a few seconds later, Tali came running into the mess hall and said "I need help, Commander Shepard just collapsed!"

* * *

Rain: And that ends this chapter. The next will reveal a little bit more when it comes to Shepard's true mission so until then…

Mario: See you next time!


	11. Chapter 11

Rain:…You guys know what time it is…Let's get started!

Mario: Here we go!

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

**_Chapter Eleven: Visions and Therum_**

**_Unknown Location_**

**_Commander Rock Shepard _**

_Shepard was now lying in the middle of a battlefield; large red laser beams were shooting out the sky and the faint sounds of gunfire was heard all around him. _

_He was weak, battered, drained and in tremendous amount of pain but none of that mattered for what he saw had broken his spirit. _

_Just what seemed like moments ago, he had watched as that giant squid looking machine had just destroyed the transport vehicle that held his best friend, the girl he loved explode right in front of him. _

_ "__T-Tali…" he mumbled to himself in agony as silent sobs left his lips, his eyes filling up with unshed tears before blinking rapidly, letting them fall down the sides of his eyes and down his face. _

_He had done many terrible things in his lifetime but he didn't deserve this but as he lay there, he heard it. It was a voice that was agonizingly familiar but it sounded mechanical and darker than the light and loving tone he was used to._

**_"_****_Shepard…You will fail…"_**

_Looking up, he saw a machined version of a Turian that looked exactly like Saren standing before him, his eyes glowing a bright and ominous yellow with flickers of red inside of them. _

_Suddenly, the mechanized Turian lifted up his right arm and revealed the head of the Quarian he cared for dearly but he could see the same yellow glow that the Turian's eyes were glowing behind her visor. __**"This is her fate Shepard…This will be the fate of everyone you care for…"**_

_The Turian seemed to look behind him which caused Shepard to look as well and that's when he saw it. The faces of every friend he had made, every family member, every member of the Normandy as well as eighteen black and blurry blobs that with a humanoid shape to them, all of their eyes glowing that same horrifyingly yellow. _

_Without warning, Tali's dismembered head was in his face, her glowing yellow eyes glaring hatefully into his as her mechanized voice screamed out __**"It is inevitable Shepard…Coming back will not change anything! Your failure has already been written in stone."**_

_"__I won't believe that…" Shepard stated but the turian merely smirked and suddenly, the already bleak sky completely darkened before thousands of small red orbs began to blink into existence._

**_"_****_We told you Shepard…You live because we allowed it…And you will die because we demand it…Your time has ended before…and we demand that it ends again!" _**

_The Turian dropped the head of Tali, which fell against the black ashes that covered the ground before the Turian's feet slammed on her head, shattering it like it was glass._

* * *

**_The Normandy Medical Bay_**

**_Commander Rock Shepard_**

With a loud gasp, Shepard found himself sitting up in the medical bay, sweat pouring from his face as he panted heavily and shakily.

Shepard shut his eyes and placed his hands over his face and wiped the sweat from it before shutting his eyes.

_'__Damn it…I thought these dreams would have ended when I came back…'_ Shepard thought to himself as he brushed his wet hair back with his right hand but it was then where he heard someone breathing slowly and gently to his side and when he turned his head, he smiled.

Resting in a chair and slumped over to the side of his bed was Tali, the mouth piece of her helmet glowing with every small breath and moan she took but her visor being completely dark violet, indication to Shepard that she had seemingly fallen asleep but then she began to open her eyes.

For a moment, Shepard was terrified that when she opened her eyes, they would be glowing yellow but thankfully, her glow of her silver-white eyes where there and it caused him to smile…

…Just before she yelled "Doctor Chakwas! He's awake!" causing his headache to return immediately.

A few seconds later, Chakwas came bustling out of the room that was inside of the medical bay almost immediately when Tali yelled with along Jasmine, a concerned look on their faces.

"Thank goodness you've finally woke up Shepard," Chakwas stated while staring at him, trying to now conceal her worry. "You gave everyone quite a scare with suddenly collapsing in the mess hall the way you did. Especially the person you were talking too."

"Yeah, she was in a damn panic when she appeared in mess," Jasmine said with a chuckle, her hands resting on her hips.

Shepard looked at Chakwas and the Jasmine before he finally rested his eyes onto Tali, ready to apologize for the worry but before he could say anything, Joker's voice came on over the intercom, saying "Hey everyone, we just arrived at the lovely lava planet of Therum! Please, no thanks. It was my pleasure bringing you all here! Let's just make sure it doesn't wind up like Zombie planet!"

"We're at Therum already?!" Shepard exclaimed in surprise.

"Well Rocky…" Jasmine started with a frown on her face. "You've been unconscious for three days…"

Shepard's eyes widened in shock at this news.

_'__I-It can't be…three days?! That dream didn't feel that long….'_ Shepard thought to himself as he lowered his head before he thought _'How annoying…regardless, we're making some good time.'_

"No matter, we need to get moving now that we're here," Shepard stated as he swung his legs off the bed and to the floor before he stood up.

Hearing his words made Jasmine instantly scowl and state "Shepard, I don't think you going out there, especially after your fainting spell in the Mess hall."

"I'll be fine Jasmine." Shepard told her firmly.

"No you aren't baby brother. You were out of action for three days. And might I add, these last three days have been very fucked in terms of your exercise. Ashley and Garrus have been at each other's throats and nearly came to blows."

Shepard rubbed his temples, his frustration growing at the names of two of those in his command. "I'll deal with them when it comes but we have a mission to complete and the longer we wait here, the longer Dr. T'Soni is in danger."

But Chakwas wouldn't hear that because she instantly replied "Shepard, you are obviously not fine. What if you collapse during your mission? For god sakes Shepard, you can die out there if you aren't careful."

"Death doesn't scare me," Shepard responded with a rather cocky grin but his answer merely caused both Chakwas and Jasmine to frown and narrow their eyes at him.

"Well guess what? Your death would lead us all to ruin and this mission will fail," Jasmine stated with a look of frustration on her face. "God, you are so stubborn Rocky!"

"Tends to be part of my charm," Shepard responded with a wry grin but that only set Jasmine off even more.

"No, it's part of you being a cocky asshole. You're the leader of this team as well as a Spectre, this team depends on you, you block head!" Jasmine exclaimed, which only made Shepard growl a bit at her insult.

"…Maybe you should sit this one out Commander…" Tali murmured with a frown heard in her voice, causing Shepard to look at her in surprise.

"Are you serious Tali?" Shepard asked with a frown on his face. "There is no reason for me to stay here when we have a mission."

"There is when you suddenly collapse Commander," Tali said with a little anger in her voice which made Shepard flinch from the surprise of her anger, which seemed to surprise her as well because her silver-white eyes widened before they gazed to the floor.

Shepard stared at her for a long time and at first, he was truly proud of her for speaking her mind, it was just one step closer for her to being more open with him but at the same time…Was it really a good time for this when they were on Therum?

But then he let out a small sigh.

But if he was to be honest with himself, he didn't exactly care about his health, all he wanted to do was drown out that fucking dream that was still running through his mind.

"Tali, Jasmine, Chakwas…I know how you guys feel and normally, when something like that happens, I would step down but too much is at stake and I'm needed to lead this team…" Shepard said slowly with a small smile on his face. "But...Maybe you three are right…Maybe …I just need a break….I have been running for quite a bit without stop…I don't want to burn out when I need to be at my best."

"I believe that will be best, Shepard," Chakwas said with a smile on her face.

"As do I Shepard," Tali added on with her eyes arched, showing Shepard that she was smiling.

"You were always headstrong Rocky. I'm glad this triple threat was able to knock you down to your senses," Jasmine boasted with a small laugh and a wink towards her brother.

Shepard took a small, dramatic sigh and said "Then I guess I'm outvoted…And here I thought I was the commander of this vessel but this mission needs a leader…" Shepard then turned to Jasmine and said "And I would like you to lead them on this mission."

Shepard then noticed the surprise on her face before it changed into a look of worry. "I…I don't think that's a good idea Rock," Jasmine told him, her voice ringing in uncertainty which made Shepard frown.

He could tell that something was wrong.

The smile that she had changed into a stern look, something he hadn't exactly seen whenever they spoke.

Was it fear?

"Nonsense Jasmine. Out of everyone here, you are the best choice to lead the team," Shepard told her but when she lowered her head to look at the ground, Shepard frowned and turned to Tali and Chakwas and said "Can you two leave? We need to talk alone for a moment…"

Tali and Chakwas left the room, leaving Shepard and his sister alone in the room once the two were alone, Shepard narrowed his eyes and asked "Why don't you want to talk my place?"

Shepard's eyes were locked on the form of his sisters as she rubbed the back of her neck nervously before she huffed and said "I'm not too good at commanding others Rocky. It's not my strong suit."

"Bullshit," Shepard responded instantly. "Kaidan, Garrus and Wrex told me you were pivotal in leading them back to save us. Don't give me that shit."

"It's not bullshit Rocky," Jasmine responded, albeit weakly.

Shepard eyed with a concerned frown on his face. He hadn't known her long but he knew her just enough to know that the weak tone that was in her voice didn't belong there.

Slowly, Shepard walked up to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and said "Look…If you don't want to talk about it then that is fine but you can't keep it buried inside of you forever. If you won't take my place, I'll go."

Jasmine gave him a sneer and looked to the side and replied "You are not fit to leave the medical bay, baby brother."

"And yet I must because there is no one that can take my place," Shepard instantly replied sternly. "Because the one person that I can depend on to lead doesn't feel that she is fit enough to do so."

"I'm not Rock," Jasmine breathed out, her words coming out shakily.

Shepard let out a frustrated sigh and said with a hint of heat in his voice "We are both commanders on this ship…You are the hero of the Skyllian blitz and not only that, Dr. T'Soni may be the key to what happened to Matriarch Benezia, the very same Asari that you seem to know and is one of reasons why you joined my crew. If anything, you should be the first one to take my place so why won't y-"

"The last time I was in command, I lost my entire team!" Jasmine exclaimed in both anger and sadness, which caused Shepard to blink in surprise before he felt his heart drop.

How could he have forgotten?

Jasmine lost her ship and team to Saren and the Geth on Feros. The only reason he went there first instead of getting Liara was due to getting her SOS signal.

How could he have been so insensitive?

"God…Jasmine, I'm so so-," Shepard started out but Jasmine merely shook her head and let out a bitter laugh.

"Don't even apologize Rock…You're leading a one man war against Saren, who has an army of Geth with just one ship with aliens within it. You have a lot on your mind and you have every right to not remember my problems," Jasmine told him before shaking her head and adding "It's stupid…I know that I would have to lead sooner or later, whether it's with your team or my own but I…I can't will myself to take command…Not after leading my own team to their deaths…"

Shepard could hear the sadness in her voice and it made the feelings of past regrets start to rear its ugly head because he knew the same sadness she was feeling…

All too well in fact.

Losing a crew who bad enough but from the sadness that he could hear, he could tell that she was close to every single member of her crew when they all perished thanks to Saren.

He had lost so much of his crew during his timeline, half from raiding the collectors and the rest during the failed war with the reapers…He didn't regret it then, war was war and lives were often lost but when he was going to die, he felt that regret.

He felt that sadness that his sister was now feeling from the loss of her team…but unlike how he was alone during his time of need; he wouldn't allow her to feel that way either.

Without warning, Shepard bought his into a tight hug and he felt her seize up in his arms in surprise before she loosened up and returned the hug just as tight.

This was honestly the first time Shepard had ever shown any sort of affection and it felt strange but not bad…It felt good to actually console someone physically instead of just with his words.

"I just don't want to lose anyone else…Not because of my reckless commands…" Jasmine whispered against his chest as she gripped him tighter.

Shepard shook his head at this and said "You won't. You need to believe in yourself…I trust you to lead my team to save Dr. T'Soni…You just need to believe in yourself…So please…"

Shepard pulled his older sister away and gave her a comforting smile and asked "Can you take my place?"

Jasmine looked unsure for one moment before she nodded her head and said "I let my team down when I led them to their deaths….But I won't let you down…You can count on me Rocky."

Shepard merely smiled.

"I know I can."

* * *

**_One Hour Later -Therum_**

**_Ground Team_**

_"__Oh wow…I'm getting some crazy "What the hell is this?" readings down there Jasmine. It looks like it's coming from some underground complex near the drop zone,"_ Jasmine heard Joker say as she and her brother's squad sat in the Mako, trying to shake the cobwebs out of their heads after the rough landing onto the planet.

"Underground complex huh? Sounds interesting," Wrex said with a grumble of satisfaction, bobbing his head lightly.

_ "__Yeah….Well, keep save and have a good time down there kids. Be sure to bring daddy tons of treats when you come back. Preferably something that won't break my bones or kill me,"_ Joker said

Jasmine couldn't help but let a small grin form on her face from Joker's words as she and Shepard's team were resting inside the Mako on the planet Therum, all of them looking over their various weapons, making sure they were all in working condition.

"Understood Joker. We'll see you when we get back. Jasmine out," Jasmine told the pilot before she took a hold of the wheel of the Mako, much to the horror of both Garrus and Kaidan.

"Jasmine, maybe you should let one of us drive the Mako," Kaidan said with a nervous stare to his leader.

Jasmine looked back and raised an eyebrow in Kaidan's direction…Not that Kaidan could see due to the thick yellow visor over the top of her face.

Her armor was very similar to Shepard's own armor but her armor did have differences from his.

Her armor was specialized white Alliance military "N7" armor that had a thin white strip with a bold blue inside of it adorned on her right arm along with an "N7" medal on the right side of her upper chest.

She also had a white helmet that adorned a blue strip in the middle and a thick yellow visor that hid her eyes from the outside world but the one thing that was an addition was the holster that held her folded up sword within in along with her standard pistol, shotgun, sniper rifle and machine gun.

Despite the thick yellow visor, Kaidan seemed to understand what she was doing behind it and continued with "Well…The last time you drove the Mako, it wasn't pretty for me and Garrus...Especially me…"

Jasmine continued to stare at him for another minute before she said "It wasn't that bad of a ride so calm down Alenko," And with that said, Jasmine stepped on the gas petal and drove the Mako at top speed, causing everyone to shriek in surprise and then hold on to their seatbelts for dear life/

Except Wrex, who was very amused by the horrendous ride.

"Keelah!" Tali shrieked out as Jasmine made a sharp left turn, causing her to bump into Wrex, who merely turned his head and stared at her.

"What's wrong little Quarian? Can't handle the ride?" Wrex taunted with a toothy smirk on his scarred face.

Tali narrowed her eyes at Wrex and tried to pry herself off of him but then when Jasmine made a sharp right turn, she found herself slamming against Ashley's form but Ashley merely turned her head to Tali, revealing how pale her own face was and asked "Are you alright Tali?"

Tali stared at the human woman for a moment then nodded, saying "I will be fine, as long as Jasmine doesn't make another tu-" She interrupted herself as she shrieked again when Jasmine made another sharp turn, making her slam into Wrex again.

"I hate being in the middle," Tali moaned out faintly while Wrex laughed again.

Kaidan stayed eerily quiet but anyone could tell that he was shaking in his seat, frightfully pale.

Garrus on the other hand was calm and collected as he sat in the seat next to Jasmine, his hands ready to fire the Mass Accelerator cannon and the coaxial-mounted machine gun in case they spotted Geth on the planet.

Jasmine had been driving as fast as she could to get to the coordinates of where Joker told them where the readings were coming from when he noticed something that caused him to stop the Mako, ignoring Kaidan's "Oh thank God" coming from behind her.

"Jasmine, why did you stop?" Garrus asked, turning his head to Jasmine'x direction but when Jasmine continued to look out of the window, Garrus looked out as well and saw it.

A large, wingless synthetic Hornet was seeing flying from the distance and right towards them, causing a large shadow on the ground. "What in the hell is that?" Garrus whispered in awe of the frigate in the air.

"What do you guys looking at?" Ashley asked with a tilt of her head. "It's like a hornet but its wingless and its silvery looking."

"Oh no, it's a Geth drop ship!" Tali exclaimed in horror after hearing the description of what the two were looking at. Jasmine immediately turned around to face Tali, as did everyone else and seeing all those eyes on her made nervous but considering the serious situation, she swallowed her nervousness and continued on.

"That thing is a Geth drop ship. It's a frigate that carries not only the Geth foot soldiers but also Geth Armatures and their stronger counterpart, the Geth Colossus. They are dangerous and can wipe out many troops in mere moments with their Siege Pulse Cannons. We do not want to handle those, especially at close range."

"Tali…How can you tell the Colossus and the Armatures apart?" Jasmine said ominously, watching as three large bright platinum-silver balls slammed into the ground far ahead of them.

"Well, The Colossus is a lot brighter, bigger, a platinum-silver color. Why?" Jasmine narrowed her eyes and took a small breath as she saw three platinum-silver praying mantis (excluding the two arms) looking machine with the familiar "Head" of the Geth on four legs stalking towards them slowly.

"Because we're about to get into one hell of a battle in this thing. Garrus, I want you firing on those things three seconds ago. Everyone, hold tight!" Jasmine ordered before she stepped on the gas once again while Garrus began firing the machine gun towards the closest one that was firing it's one machine gun at them.

Jasmine quickly hit the boost button to avoid the machines bullets just as Garrus aimed the Mako's cannon and firing it, smirking as the Colossus' head exploded on impact of the Mako's bullet.

"That's one down Jasmine!" Garrus shouted while The Mako swerved left and right, avoiding the powerful waves of purple energy that shot out from both of the Colossus' siege cannons, nearly falling off the edge into the lava, much to Kaidan's terror.

"Keelah, why didn't I stay on the ship with Shepard" Tali moaned out, feeling sick to her stomach but her words were overshadowed due to the sound of bullets slamming into the Mako as well as the sounds of the Mako's machine gun and cannon going off.

The Mako quickly found its ground thanks to the boosters but was hit on its side, not only sending it flying in the air and making it crash onto the ground, nearly making it fall upside down but depleting its shields almost dramatically.

"Damn it Garrus, Kill these things!" Jasmine exclaimed after forcing the Mako to stand on its four tires again and turning it around easily thanks to the boosters.

"I'm trying!" Garrus replied while firing the machine gun again, managing to destroy the second one but then the weapon became overheated.

"Damn it. Our machine gun and cannon are overheated," Garrus growled out.

Jasmine gave a sharp growl and stepped on the gas again, driving towards the last Colossus which was firing its machine gun towards the charging Mako.

"What the hell are you doing?" Garrus asked, his head turned to Jasmine's direction as the Mako swerved from side to side sharply while getting closer to the large machine.

"Simple, turning the Mako into a weapon," Jasmine responded with a large grin on her face.

Hearing these words, Kaidan, Tali and Ashley traded looks of alarm to each other while Wrex chuckled could only chuckle and ask "Thinking like a true Krogan, eh Jasmine?"

Jasmine could only grin at Wrex's words as she continued to drive until he was right below the Colossus and hit the booster as hard as she could, ramming the roof of the Mako into the head of the Colossi, making tilt backwards and then fall to the ground where the Mako's tire came slamming into its head when he landed heavily, destroying it instantly.

It was completely quiet inside of the Mako now, every member inside of it breathing slowly, not moving a single muscle in their body until Garrus began to laugh slowly then Jasmine shortly joined in and soon, everyone inside was laughing their heads off..

"I have to say Jasmine, That…That was the single most risky maneuver I've ever been a part of but hell, was it a glorious one," Garrus said after his laughter had died down.

"I agree with Vakarian ," Ashley added leaning her head back with a wheezy chuckle. "Such a stupid yet awesome attack."

Kaidan happily nodded while wiping the tears from his eyes, holding his stomach.

"Jasmine, i-if you have to do such stupid stunts to defeat these machines, I say keep them coming," Tali added with a small giggle, making Jasmine smile wider.

"Well I'm glad you guys enjoyed my reckless stunt. Stick with me and I know you guys will see many more," Jasmine said before driving the Mako again, feeling somewhat happy that this little battle had bought Shepard's team together for just a moment.

The team continued to drive through the dangerous terrain of Therum, blasting away any Geth that had come past them until they finally were forced to leave the Mako due to coming upon a narrow cavern that the Mako couldn't go through.

"Alright guys…Keep it steady. Watch each other's backs. We don't know what is around the corner." Jasmine murmured to the others, her pistol out and ready for firing.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Kaidan murmured softly, his eyes looking towards the ruins that were nearby only to blink when he saw something large scurrying up a wall.

"A really bad feeling."

"I'm sure it won't be as bad as those three Colossi we fought in the Mako or anything we fought just to open the gate to get to this point." Ashley said with a bright smile which then melted away when a bullet grazed her helmet.

"Scatter" Jasmine commanded while dodging behind a rock, finding herself right next to Wrex.

"I have to say Jasmine, you sure know how to lead a mission." Wrex said while standing up from behind the rock and firing his shotgun, shattering the chest of a Geth that was trying to sneak towards their location.

"Yeah, I'm so lucky." Jasmine replied with a sarcastic drawl as she leaned up behind the rock and shot another Geth who had left cover right in the "eye", making it fall backwards before the two leaped over the rock and dashed forward, both firing their respective weapons at oncoming Geth then sliding against another rock and waited for a moment then peered from behind it to find that there were no more Geth there.

"Area secured," Jasmine heard Garrus say through her commlink, making her sigh in relief and stand up from her hiding spot and quickly placed her pistol back in its spot on her lower back and ushered the team together before she placed two fingers to the side of her helmet and asked "Joker, how close are we towards those unusual readings?"

_"__Jeez, way to give a guy a heart attack. You're pretty close to the readings actually. They're right where those ruins are,"_ Joker said, causing Jasmine to imagine the pilot rubbing his chest in surprise which in turn caused Jasmine to grin a bit.

With a nod, Jasmine turned to the team and said "Alright. We don't know what's waiting for us in that ruin which is why I'm having you Ashley, working with Garrus on sniper duty on top of this rock formation next to us. Kaidan, Tali, Wrex, you three with me."

Ashley and Garrus shared a look of disdain to each other but nodded and walk away silently, which made Jasmine shake her head in amusement at the two walking away and from the sounds of it, the two were already arguing.

Jasmine looked towards the ruins and closed her eyes.

_'__We are almost there, I am sure of it…'_ Jasmine then opened her eyes and turned to Wrex and Tali and said "Let's move! We have a mission to complete!"

* * *

Rain: And with that, we end this chapter. Now, the next chapter will deal with the rescue as well as a battle with the Geth and the Krogan warlord that's working with Saren. I personally love the Therum mission and hope you guys will as well. Until then…

Mario: See you next time.


	12. Chapter 12

Rain: And I'm officially back in the saddle for this one. Did anyone miss me? No? D'Ah well, doesn't matter. Let us continue on through **_Mass Effect: Redemption of the Future!_**

Mario: Here…We…Go!

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

**_Chapter Twelve: Thoughts of the Commander, Mission to Liara_**

"How could I have let them talk me into this?" Shepard said bitterly to himself with a grunt as he leaned his head back on the wall before he immediately felt pathetic for being put in this position.

As he promised Tali, Chakwas and Jasmine, Shepard had remained on the ship but while Shepard told his sister the truth, he felt truly pathetic.

From his time in the Marines...To becoming the "Butcher of Torfan"…To being the leader of the "New Dawn" and finally as a Spectre during his war on the Reapers, Shepard had always fought by the side of his team.

Not only because it gave him a rush that he couldn't help but crave…But it gave him a reason to keep his mind busy as well from all that he had done in his past.

He couldn't allow himself to regret his actions during the missions he was in due to the fear of being weak.

It wasn't his way…It wasn't what he was taught.

The moment he became a dog of the military, his life became forfeit to keep not only Earth safe, but the universe as a whole.

He was always told that anyone can and will die under his command but no matter what happens…the mission must be completed at any and all costs.

He was taught to not rely on messiahs or miracles or any other idealistic dream that popped into the heads of people like the deceased Richard Jenkins.

He dealt with facts and the facts were that all of them were expendable…As a soldier, he realized that his entire purpose in life was to fight until either he grew old and bitter or died as the young lion he was always called back then.

But Shepard didn't care.

He didn't worry about becoming a better person.

He didn't care about the mistakes that littered his past.

He was a soldier, cold and invulnerable to the harshness of war and death.

And that was all because of the mindset that had been drilled into his head by his teacher in the Marines…

_"If there is one fact we all must face, there are no happy endings for us dogs of the military…We walk in, we do our job, no matter the cost. We live and fight until the mission is won or until we die…"_

Shepard created his entire identity in his universe and possibly in this universe as well around those words and he lived by them. He lied, he cheated, he betrayed anyone and everyone to make the universe a better place.

He would do all that he could to snatch even the smallest victory out of the jaws of absolute defeat but it was that mindset that had led to the deaths of millions of people at the hands of the Reaper's and their allies along with his comrades and even his own life.

Shepard slammed his palm against his bed and stood up to walk towards the large window to stare down at Therum.

"I should be down there…" Shepard whispered bitterly, his hazel eyes staring down at the planet below. He shouldn't have let the three women convince him to stay behind.

He should have just gone ahead with the mission.

But…

* * *

**_Flashback_**

_"I just don't want to lose anyone else…Not because of my reckless commands…" Jasmine whispered against his chest as she gripped him tighter._

_ Shepard shook his head at this and said "You won't. You need to believe in yourself…I trust you to lead my team to save Dr. T'Soni…You just need to believe in yourself…So please…"_

_Shepard pulled his older sister away and gave her a comforting smile and asked "Can you take my place?"_

_Jasmine looked unsure for one moment before she nodded her head and said "I let my team down when I led them to their deaths….But I won't let you down…You can count on me Rocky."_

_Shepard merely smiled. _

_"I know I can."_

**_End Flashback_**

* * *

_**Commander Shepard  
**_

He had entrusted his team to her.

His sister…Of this world…

Could he really go back on his word to her?

He told her that he believed in her. If he went down there, it would show that in the end, he didn't believe in her.

And he truly did.

"When did I become so weak?" Shepard asked himself as he shut his eyes.

No, he knew when it happened.

When he was all alone…At the very end of his life…All that he had built up had crashed around him.

When those tears fell from his eyes.

When the stars above were supposed to be the final things he saw…the very same stars he had watched when he was a young boy with all the hopeful dreams in the universe before the darkness overcame his heart.

He had betrayed who he was for endless years for that one moment of regret…And yet, with that regret, he was in a new universe that still had a chance to make it out of the Reaper menace alive.

He may have not believed in messiahs or miracles or any other idealistic dream that popped into his head but that was what this was.

A miracle.

**_"Shepard…You will fail…"_**

Shepard placed his hand on his temples and rubbed them needing to remove the voice from his head as quickly as humanly possible. "No…I won't fail…And neither will they," Shepard said with a determined look on his face.

His former persona was a cold emotionless soldier that had strength.

This new persona was born of the weakness of the first.

But this world didn't need that weakness…It needed strength. The power his former persona had…But maybe…Just maybe…He could become strong again without falling to the darkness that swirled around that strength.

* * *

**_Therum_**

**_Team Sniper_**

The walk to their sniping position was a silent one. Garrus and Ashley couldn't help but scowl at one another each time other looked at the other

Despite their shared laughter in the Mako, the two of them were back to business…And back to hating one another.

But strangely, the two of them wanted to break the tense silence between them but neither wanted to make a move but thankfully, once they got to their position, the two silently assembled their sniper rifles and looked through their scopes until Garrus said "We have movement/"

The two looked on as they noticed a group of different colored Geth, Eleven of them in total, walking around in a strict pattern.

Walk straight, turn to the right, walk forward then take another turn to the right.

Rinse and Repeat.

"We should take them out in a preemptive attack. It might save the others the trouble of doing it," Ashley said after a moment, momentarily taking her eye from her scope to rub it before placing it back against it.

"Normally," Garrus started. "I would agree with you but we don't know if there are any more surprises like those Geth Colossus or Geth Armatures that the Quarian mentioned."

Ashley turned to Garrus and glowered, saying to him "She has a name and its Tali. Why don't you learn to use it?"

Garrus paused for a moment, as if he was thinking about it but then let out a small sigh, responding "Her species created the Geth, the very same Geth that wiped out Eden Prime and our current target. Why do you defend the race, more specifically _Tali_ when they are basically caused all of this?"

"Because they suffered enough. Kicked off their planet by those Geth and trapped in those suits for the rest of their lives, being known as just thieves, slaves and vagabonds. Don't you think they received their punishment?" She responded swiftly.

"We don't have time for this," Garrus said before a large shadow had flown over them, which caused all of them to look up.

"It's a Geth Dreadnaught," Ashley murmured in shock while turning her head to get a better look at it. The two of them dared not make a single moment in fear that Geth might suddenly drop out of the sky to kill them.

They watched as the Dreadnaught flew over the ruins and dropped down two very large dark grey colored Geth with yellow stripes on its body as well as a large silver colored ball before flying off into the horizon, giving the two members of the Normandy a mixture of relief and fear.

They did drop down one dark grey and yellow Geth they had encountered during their trek here as well as that silver ball which may or not be a Geth Armature of Colossus but at least they didn't drop the Geth on them.

The silver ball next to the large Geth then morphed into a smaller version of the Geth Colossus they had faced before, which the three (especially Garrus) realized that this was a Geth Armature.

This fact didn't make their situation any better.

"We've got trouble," Garrus muttered as he activated his Omni-tool...

* * *

**_Ground Team_**

After leaving their hiding spot from when the Geth Dreadnaught that had flown over them, Jasmine was walking with Kaidan, Tali and Wrex with their weapons drawn, readying themselves for the gunfight that they were sure was going to happen until Jasmine heard Garrus say through his transmitter _"Jasmine, are you there?"_

Jasmine looked down at her omni tool and responded with "This is Jasmine. What is it?"

_"There are Geth up ahead at the ruins…"_ Garrus responded to her gravely.

Hearing the grave tone in Garrus' voice caused Jasmine to come to a complete stop, making the three followers do the same. "How many?" she asked with a cold tone in her voice, knowing she wouldn't like the answer.

And she was right because after a moment of silence, Garrus replied with _"I see a twelve of the regular grey colored Geth we've encountered during this mission but there are two dark brown/red colored ones two bright colored white ones and one large black and yellow Geth standing on the left side of the Armature."_

Jasmine turned to Tali in confusion and asked her "What are the dark brown/red colored Geth, the bright white colored Geth and the black and yellow colored Geth called and what are their abilities?"

"The first one is known as the Geth Sniper. Pretty deadly at long distances but weaker than the regular Geth troopers. The second ones are known as Geth Shock Troopers…They are the most bothersome of the Geth," Tali explained, her tone going from normal to annoyed when talking about the Shock Troopers.

"They're able to put up these hexagon shields that take a few shots to take down and they are very proficient with their assault rifles and they can boost up their shields during battle…Pretty annoying to face in battle but the last ones you're asking about...Those are the dangerous ones, compared to the Geth Juggernauts we faced a ways back. They are known as Geth Destroyers. Highly powerful Geth that focus on close range melee, the perfect companions to the Geth Snipers and since we have them both here, we're in for a fight…" Tali finished with a scowl on her face.

Jasmine nodded and relayed the information back to Garrus but then told the Turian "Alright Garrus, here's the plan. You and Ashley will aim for the farthest Geth so they will think their being attacked from the west. Hopefully, they'll buy it and give us a chance to surprise them."

_"Understood Jasmine," _Garrus said before cutting off transmission. Jasmine turned to face the three and told them what was going on and once she was finished, Kaidan frowned.

"Do you think this is going to work. The Geth are clearly smarter than that." Kaidan asked as he crossed his arms with a look of thought on his face.

Jasmine stared at Kaidan with a deep frown on her face.

"If the plan works, it works. If it doesn't, then we do things the old fashioned way," Jasmine responded, pulling out her pistol with a serious frown. "But that's if the plan truly doesn't work. In the meantime, Kaidan, you stay with me here. Tali, Wrex, you two will engage the enemy first."

Using her index and middle finger, Jasmine pointed to a large stone that was ahead of their position. Wrex and Tali looked at each other before Wrex chuckled lowly. "I see…wanting the two strongest to be in the lead in case the plan doesn't work?" Wrex asked with a wide smirk on his face, leaning his shotgun on his left shoulder.

Jasmine resisted the strong urge to roll his eyes but she replied "Yes. So far, you two are a devastating force with those shotguns in your hands and I'm sure the two of you have more abilities than we know about so I believe you two are the best to fight close range. Kaidan and I will provide cover fire, me with my own sniper rifle and Kaidan with his biotics. If the plan doesn't work…" Jasmine was now sporting a full on smirk now.

"Blast them without mercy."

"I like the way you think, Jasmine," Wrex growled out in approval, nodding his head before all of them took their positions.

Jasmine took out her Sniper Rifle and looked through the scope at the marching Geth and watched as a shot from one of her brother's soldiers on the rock formation completely shatter the head of the farthest Geth then two more shots destroyed the second and third farthest Geth.

She watched as the Geth turn in the opposite direction from their location with their guns drawn and smirked as they slowly advanced to the west.

Her plan was successful.

Jasmine turned her head to her three squad mates before she nodded and slowly began advanced to the open area with her gun out in front of her, completely unaware of the camouflaged pattern black on white Geth Hopper that was crawling around on the wall, watching them with its bright blue eye which slowly began to turn red.

"Something isn't right…." Tali murmured as she stared at her Omni-tool, her radar suddenly becoming a black snow screen with many red dots buzzing on it while the big red words of "Jammed" on it.

"Guys, my radar suddenly jammed," Tali announced with a squint of her eyes. The two soldiers and the mercenary looked back at her then looked at their Omni-tools and looked at their radars only to see the same thing that was on Tali's.

"This never happened before…." Jasmine said to herself with a small murmur, looking at her radar with confusion.

Had she'd been paying attention however, she would have noticed the slim Geth that was hanging above her and Shepard's team but she looked at the three in front of her and said "Let's keep moving."

The three nodded and together, the four of them began to move closer to the ruins, ready to land a surprise attack on the Geth but the Geth that was above them merely looked at where it's brethren were waiting and flapped the panels that were on its "head", warning them of the oncoming threat to their lord's mission.

* * *

**_Team Sniper_**

Ashley was readying his aim to take out another Geth just as Garrus were also getting ready to strike again but she noticed something strange.

Ashley narrowed her eye as she watched the panels on the head of the Geth's "heads" flap open and closed in some strange pattern before closing completely.

She then noticed that the Geth had immediately turned back around and began to advance towards where Jasmine and the others were coming from.

Ashley quickly turned her head and noticed the two Geth Snipers pulled out their sniper rifles and place it over their flashlight eyes then slowly aim it towards their direction, along with two Geth troopers aiming their rifles at them as well.

Ashley yelled "Incoming!" before she tackled Garrus to the ground, barely avoiding being sniped in the head by one of the snipers.

Ashley and Garrus slammed to the ground as the sounds bullets ricocheting against the edge of the cliff reached their ears but as Ashley pushed herself off of Garrus' body, she said "That was a close one."

"Isn't that the tru-" Garrus started to say until a large explosion rocked the cliff they were one, which caused a huge chunk of it to crack off before falling, revealing both Ashley and Garrus to the Geth.

And the Geth Snipers wasted no time in taking aim at the two.

"Damn it, we need to get out of here," Garrus said over the ricocheting of bullets that hit the edge of the mountain.

"We need to stay here," Ashley argued "We need to supply cover fire to the Jasmine and the others!"

Garrus gave a harsh glare to the Gunnery Chief and replied harshly "We can't do that if we're being shot at from up here! We need to get down there and supply cover fire!"

Ashley let out a rough growl and narrowed her own eyes and replied "We have the vantage point up here to help them. All we have to do is wait until their weapons overheat."

"If they overheat," The C-Sec Officer countered with a wry smirk. "You can stay up here and get shot but I'm going down there to help the Jasmine and the others!"

"Damn it Garrus!" Ashley shouted out in anger as she grabbed his arm and said "We can't abandon the plan when shit gets bad! At least wait for Jasmine to ask for backup!"

"We don't have time for that!" Garrus responded before he wrenched her arm away from her and then said "They need our help and they need it now!"

"Then at least contact Jasmine and see for yourself if they need it!" Ashley responded with a shout while ducking from a bullet that nearly struck her shoulder but as she watched Garrus trying to crawl down, she drew a sharp breath, as if she didn't want to say the next words that wanted to come out but she finally said "Don't leave me alone here…"

Garrus stared at her long and hard with a blank look on his face.

Despite his strong dislike of the human female, he could see the hint of desperation in her eyes at being left alone during this rainstorm of bullets and red sand and despite all of his screaming to leave her here to help the team, Garrus found herself nodding.

"I'll stay…Just until we push them back," Garrus told her with a gentle tone in his voice, despite the intense fire they were under.

Spirits knows how angry his father would be if he left a woman behind all by herself during this shitstorm…human or not…

* * *

**_Ground Team_**

As Jasmine and her squad were just outside of the ruins, Tali noticed something hanging from the catwalk ahead of them and narrowed her eyes, trying to make out what it was but when she saw it turn its head, it revealed a large glowing headlight briefly before leaping to the ground and leaping away quickly, causing her to blink in shock.

What was that?

She didn't have time to dwell on her question due to the fact of hearing the sound of gunfire and the sound of a huge explosion , which caused her and the entire team to duck into cover.

"I suppose the plan failed," Wrex noted with a chuckle, waiting until a Geth trooper got close enough to fire his shotgun, managing to blow apart its knee, making it fall to the ground where he then shot it in the head, destroying it swiftly.

"It didn't fail," Jasmine responded as she fired her sniper rifle at the farthest trooper, causing it to fall on the ground instantly.

"I saw them being led away from our position but something led them back…" Jasmine told Wrex as she took another shot before she ducked behind cover as the sound of metal hitting the ground above the sounds of gunfire, knowing she had just killed another Geth.

"But it doesn't matter now. Tali, Wrex, take lead. Kaidan and I will back you two up," Jasmine told both Wrex and Tali with a stern look on her face. Wrex and Tali nodded while pulling out their weapons.

"Ready to kill some Geth, young one?" Wrex asked with a crooked smile. Tali merely cocked her shotgun and nodded with a small smirk on her hidden face.

"When am I not?" She responded cockily which made Wrex let out a rough laugh before he left cover and slowly advanced towards the three Geth troopers that were heading towards him and quickly fired three shots which shattered the bodies of the three geth before he used his biotics to force an oncoming Geth Destroyer backwards making it crash into a group of Geth that were firing at the cliff.

Tali on the other hand was much quicker in leaving her hiding spot, nearly dashing to the nearest Geth and shooting it in the head with her shotgun before she twirled her body and bashed the side of her weapon into the head of another Geth before she fired her gun at point blank range before leaping into cover when she saw a red beam coming from the scope of a Geth sniper.

The Armature began to fire at the area where Tali was hiding and both Jasmine and Kaidan saw this so while Jasmine took a shot at its head, which caused it to stumble, Kaidan used his biotics to lift it into the air before he launched it back forcefully into a group of troopers, which caused them to finally stop shooting at where Garrus and Ashley were.

Kaidan, overcome with pain, kneeled down on one knee and held his head, biting back a wince.

"You alright Kaidan?" Jasmine asked while shooting the Geth snipers that was now getting up from the ground after the Destroyer managed to get on one knee to let them free, managing to take a sniper down.

"I'll be fine Jasmine. Just need a second," Kaidan replied with a nod, making Jasmine nod in his direction before the two ducked to avoid a bullet from the second sniper.

* * *

**_Team Sniper_**

Garrus and Ashley could hear the sounds of battle raging beneath them but they could tell that the pressure was off the two of them now.

"Ready?" Garrus asked with a small scowl on his face, clearly ready to strike down some Geth as quickly as possible.

And thankfully, Ashley merely smirked and held up her sniper rifle and nodded. The two quickly got on one knee and aimed their rifles and watched as the Geth Shock Troopers were hiding behind several shields.

The two quickly took three shots, which took down two shields but the Geth Shock Troopers summoned a set of six hexagon shields in front of them to block their shots while sometimes leaving cover to fire at them.

"Damn it, I just need one clean shot." Garrus murmured angrily while moving back to avoid a bullet from the Geth sniper, who had gotten behind the shields as well.

"Same here…This is far worse than that awesome Rachni war games I owned when I was younger. I could never hit those damn bugs for anything, even with my main character at its highest level," Ashley muttered with narrowed eyes, trying to capitalize on the perfect moment where she could take out one of the three Geth that were hiding.

But then, she saw a shield drop from in front of a single Geth and successfully managed to snipe one shock trooper in the head. "Score one for me! Can you do better Garrus?"

Garrus eyed her from the corner of his eye and let a smirk form on his face.

"Watch how a Turian takes care of business…" He said coolly as he finally saw the last Geth sniper pop its head out from the shield and took it out instantly.

Ashley gave a challenging grin and said "Nice shot but we still have a lot of Geth and-" Ashley saw an opening and took another shot, hitting a trooper in the side of its head as it was going to fire at Tali.

"-I'm up by one," she finished while searching for another target.

Garrus could only grin as he took out two more Geth that were standing side by side. "Well, I'm up by two." Garrus said with a twitch of his mandibles.

Seeing this only made Ashley laugh as she took out another Geth that was aiming to shoot Wrex from the side then another that was hiding behind a boulder.

This was going to be fun.

* * *

**_Ground Team_**

Wrex stood up from his cover and began to fire at the Geth Destroyer, which was on one knee, getting ready to stand up.

He watched as the destroyer took a few hits directly to its shields but it still got on its feet, took a few steps backwards and then fired a huge blast from its shotgun towards Wrex.

Seeing this, Wrex leapt out from his cover and pulled out his assault rifle and fired at the oncoming destroyer but he didn't realize that he was getting closer to the downed Armature, which was turning its head to aim at Wrex and started to charge up its attack.

Seeing the Armature charging its attack, Tali thought _'He's going to get himself killed not focusing on his surroundings! I need to do something!'_

Tali then noticed a wounded Trooper limping towards the charging Wrex at well and an idea quickly struck her.

Activating her Omni-tool, Tali pressed a few buttons on it and then pointed it at the wounded trooper, who immediately stopped and began to shake lightly before its "eye" changed from a light green color to an orange color, signifying to the Quarian that her hacking had worked.

She forced the Geth to fire at the downed Armature with its weapon, managing to take down its shields more as well as take its attention off Wrex, long enough for it to blast the controlled Geth with its attack.

Once the trooper was destroyed, Tali took out her pistol and fired at the armature immediately, making sure to move around so it couldn't get a clear lock on her but little did she know, she had a Geth Stalker following her every move, its eye glowing an ominous red.

Jasmine had just shot another Geth trooper that was about to strike Wrex as the Krogan was in a gunfight with the Geth Destroyer and happened to see the Stalker about to hit Tali and took the shot but just as she did, another trooper happened to run in the trajectory of the bullet, which caused its head to explode.

_'Shit!' _Jasmine screamed mentally as she watched the stalker leapt towards the Quarian girl again and once more, Jasmine pressed the trigger of her gun but when nothing came out, she looked at her gun and realized that it was overheated.

Jasmine threw the rifle on the ground and just as she was going to pull out her pistol, the stalker's body glowed a bright blue before it suddenly went flying to the side and collided with a wall as hard as possible.

Jasmine was initially confused about what happened before until she heard footsteps running from behind her.

With a turn of her head, she saw Kaidan charging towards her with his biotic aura flowing around him. Kaidan skidded to a stop and hid behind a large rock across from Jasmine and said "Sorry it took so long. I didn't realize you had gotten so far ahead."

"Kaidan, am I glad to see you right now," Jasmine told him with a brief sigh of relief.

"Shepard would kill me if Tali had died," Kaidan said with a pained smile, trying to sooth his headache away.

Jasmine let a crooked smirk appear on her face. _'So…He noticed it as well…'_ Jasmine thought to herself with a small chuckle before she said "Normally I'd be annoyed that you were over exerting yourself but in this case, nice job. Now keep cover while I go kick ass!"

Kaidan nodded with gave a swift salute before Jasmine leapt over her cover and ran forward while she fired her pistol at the last few Geth that were still moving before she ducked into cover to avoid the Armature's blast.

Jasmine pulled out her assault rifle to shoot at the Armature, further lowering its shields until it was completely gone, leaving it totally defenseless.

Meanwhile, Wrex was exhausted of his personal war between him and a machine so he decided enough was enough.

With a loud roar, Wrex charged forward, his shields taking the brunt force of the weakened destroyer's shotgun and rammed into the machine, taking it off of its feet and slamming it onto the ground where he then placed his shotgun against its head and fired four shots at point blank range, effectively taking out the remains of its shield then killing it.

Wrex would have celebrated but seeing his shield waver around him, he could see he was under fire so he quickly rolled off of the dead machine's body and then picked it up, shielding him further from the Geth's fire while using his shotgun to take out the three Geth troopers that were firing at him.

And then, the only thing that remained of the Geth was the armature, which was barely functioning due to the many shots the stealthy Quarian and the Jasmine had been delivering and after one final shot from Tali, the machine finally shut down and slumped to the ground.

It was over…Until they got inside of the ruins.

"W-Wow…" Tali breathed out as she placed her pistol back on her suit, breathing slowly while closing her eyes. "W-We just took down a Geth Armature without anything other than our guns…I never thought it could be done before we did it…"

Jasmine, who was nearest to Tali, simply let a tired grin form on her face. "We'll be doing the impossible often so be prepared to say that a lot," She responded as she panting next to her, wearing a small smile.

Tali let out a tired chuckle and sat down on the ground, panting even more.

"That was a good fight," Wrex announced while tossing the dead destroyer's body to the side as he walked towards the human and the quarian, returning his shotgun to his back then placing his hands on his waist as he said "I think I would die a happy Krogan if I had many more battles like this one."

"Like I just told Tali, we'll be doing this more often. Possibly in the next few minutes," After these words, Jasmine and the entire team were at the entrance of the ruins, all of them rested enough to make one final push.

"Alright, here's the plan. Wrex, Tali, Kaidan, you three will trail behind when we get inside while Ashley, Garrus and I will snipe any Geth we see. I want this done swiftly and quietly."

The team nodded at his instructions and together, they all went inside.

* * *

**_Prothean Ruins_**

**_The Six_**

Silently, the group of six entered the ruins and went down the entrance tunnels but they soon came across the entrance to a catwalk. Being suspicious, Jasmine took out her sniper rifle and looked through the scoop then sat it down.

"Three Shock troopers and five snipers. Take out the snipers first," She murmured to Ashley and Garrus.

The two nodded and pulled out their sniper rifles and took aim at their targets and with one single shot from all of them, three of the five geth snipers fell to the ground.

But now, the remaining five Geth instantly on guard.

"Take another shot. Kaidan, assist with taking out the last one," Jasmine commanded before she, Garrus and Ashley took another shot.

Kaidan nodded and surrounded the last standing Geth with his biotics and pushed it off the railing and into the stalagmites behind it, impaling it in multiple spots.

With a nod, the six of them quietly walked down the catwalk but then to their frustration, they reach a blue force field, blocking any advancement but luckily, there was an elevator.

"Ok…Garrus…Kaidan…you two will stay up here in case any Geth try to come in here to stop us. The rest of us will go down to see if we can find T'Soni. No gets in here alive. Understood?" Jasmine ordered with a serious tone in her voice.

The two nodded and watched as Jasmine, Ashley, Tali and Wrex stepped into the elevator and watched it descend with Kaidan muttering "Good luck guys…"

When the elevator stopped, the four man squad walked out of it but without any warning, three Geth assault droids came floating up from below and started firing at them.

Jasmine and Ashley ducked behind a tile in the railings of the catwalk while Tali and Wrex ducked to the ones across from them and started to fire at the drones.

After a brief fire fight, the drones soon exploded from the amount of damage that they took and soon, the four were on the move to the next elevator where they started to descend again but as they went down, something had gone terribly wrong. The elevator began to go slower and slower.

With sparks flying from the circuit board attached to the elevator before the entire ride came to a complete stop.

"What the hell?" Jasmine said with annoyance heavy in her voice as she looked at the console on the elevator.

"What happened?" Jasmine asked as she hit the console twice before Tali patted Jasmine on her right shoulder, which caused her to look at the Quarian.

"I shall see w-what is wrong with it," Tali told her leader before she gently pushed Jasmine to the side so she could get a better look at it. "It looks like the elevator short circuited. Possibly because there were one too many people on board."

Ashley slowly turned her head to look at Wrex, who looked absolutely bored at the proceeding events. "That or because we had a Krogan who probably weighs a two ton and a half with us. Any elevator might break from his weight," Ashley said with a sarcastic, rude tone in her voice.

Wrex took her insult in stride, giving her a _friendly _pat on the shoulder but it was so hard, Ashley thought he had broken her shoulder.

It wasn't broken but it would be very sore.

"No matter. Let's continue forward…" Jasmine commanded with a sigh.

After forcefully prying the doors open, the team jumped down onto the catwalk, the four of them went down more to the broken platforms carefully, their weapons drawn and their nerves calm, they didn't even notice a large blue force field to their sides until they leapt off the broken platform and heard a faint cry of _"Is anyone out there?! Help me!"_

With a turn of their heads, they saw a blue eyed Asari with a green uniform that had a white right sleeve floating in a energy field, her arms outstretched and her mouth twisted in a scared frown. "I think we found our Asari," Ashley noted with a wry grin on her face as she placed her shotgun on her right shoulder.

Jasmine stood up and slowly approached the force field and stared at the woman behind it with a myriad of feelings behind her.

_"So…This is Matriarch Benezia's daughter…'_ Jasmine thought to herself as she stared at the weakened but still beautiful Asari behind the blue orb.

She could be the key to what had happened to the good Matriarch to make her work with Saren…

"Dr. Liara T'Soni?" Jasmine asked slowly, her voice calm and soothing.

"I-I am her…" She responded fearfully

"I am Commander Jasmine Shepard. Hero of the Skyllian Blitz and member of the Normandy. With me are Gunnery Chief, Ashley Williams, Urdnot Wrex and Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya and we are here to rescue you," Jasmine told her with a small smile on her face, trying to sooth her nerves.

Soon…She would have the answers she need…

* * *

Rain: And that is the end of this chapter. What did you guys think? Tell me in the reviews. Until then!

Mario: See you next time!


	13. Chapter 13

Rain: Couldn't help but do another chapter so soon. So sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

Mario: Here we go!

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**

**_Chapter Thirteen: Therum Complete_**

"Dr. Liara T'Soni?" Jasmine asked slowly, her voice calm and soothing.

"I-I am her…" She responded fearfully

"I am Commander Jasmine Shepard. Hero of the Skyllian Blitz and member of the Normandy. With me are Gunnery Chief, Ashley Williams, Urdnot Wrex and Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya and we are here to rescue you," Jasmine told her with a small smile on her face, trying to sooth her nerves.

_ "Oh Thank the Goddess! I didn't think anyone would find me here!"_ She cried out tearfully with wetness on her cheeks.

"Keep it down," Jasmine admonished with a frown on her face. "The place is crawling with Geth. We can't have you giving away our position." Jasmine told her in a calm but fierce whisper.

There was no sense in raising her voice at Liara for being happy but she needed to keep that fierceness in her voice to get her to calm down.

_"I-I'm sorry it's just…I've been in here for days. I'm dreadfully exhausted…."_ She lamented, her voice sounding drained but hopeful.

"You've been in this thing for days?" Tali asked softly, a frown formed on her hidden face.

"That's horrible…" Jasmine said as she eyed the force field warily.

_"Yes…I was studying these ancient ruins when the Geth showed up…So I hid in here and activated the towers' defenses. I knew that the barriers would keep them out but I hit something I wasn't supposed too and I quickly found myself trapped within this Prothean security device…Can any of you believe it? Geth outside of the veil. I never thought it would be possible."_

Tali mumbled "I sure would've believed it…." In a bitter tone, unaware that Jasmine had heard her.

_"I haven't been able to move at all since I've been in here. You all must get me out of here,"_ Liara pleaded, her eyes drooping close for a moment before snapping open, as if she was trying to keep herself awake and aware.

"Hold up. We need to know if you're working with Saren," Ashley spoke up while stepping up against the force field, distrust shining in her brown eyes.

_"S-Saren?" _ Liara questioned in confusion. _"Who's Saren?"_

"Saren is rouge Spectre who's working with the Geth," Jasmine explained, giving Ashley a side glance with an annoyed look on her face eyes, vowing to talk to her about this later.

"Your mother, Matriarch Benezia is working with him," Ashley told the trapped asari with a glare. "Before we go and risk our asses in saving you, we need to know. Whose side are you on?"

_"I'm on nobody's side!" _Liara said, raising her voice lightly. _"I may be her daughter but I am not her. I haven't even spoken to her in many years so how dare you accuse me of working with her or this Saren?!"_

"You haven't spoken to her at all?" Jasmine questioned.

_"Not at all…We got into a huge spat over me being an archeologist…She wanted me to become an Asari Commando due to my skills…But I arbore violence…She just couldn't see that,"_ Liara said, a hint of sadness within her voice. _"But still…For this woman to think I have anything to do with whatever the hell is going on is making me consider my stance on hurting others."_

Ashley went to open her mouth but seeing Jasmine's head turned in her direction caused whatever she was about to say to die in her throat.

Jasmine turned back to Liara with a small frown.

_'So she doesn't know what's going on with the Matriarch…Damn it! Well, I came this far. No sense in leaving now because my answer wasn't given to me,'_ Jasmine thought to herself before she gave a small grin at the Asari female.

"Calm down Dr. T'Soni…We'll get you out so sit tight in the meantime," Jasmine told her before Wrex chuckled lowly.

"Wrong choice of words, Jasmine," The Krogan said with another chuckle.

Everyone looked at the Krogan in annoyance at his joke but then Liara let out a small chuckle as well but her eyes widened in remembrance and said "_There is a control panel in here that should deactivate this thing but you'll have to find some way to bypass the barrier. That's the tricky part…The defenses can't be turned off from the outside so I'm not sure how you'll be able to get in here but please try…"_

"No worries. If anyone could do it, it's us," Tali told her with a small smile beneath her helmet, which caused Jasmine to smile at the happy tone of the quarian's voice.

_"I'm glad but there is more. There is a Krogan named Jayck that's leading the Geth around here somewhere. They have been trying to get through this barrier as well I wouldn't want anyone to die because of me…So please be careful," _Liara warned.

"Hold on, you said his name was Jayck?" Jasmine asked her, hoping she had just misheard the Asari but sadly that wouldn't be the case.

_"Yes. He is leading the Geth around here…Why?"_ Liara asked.

Jasmine lowered her head as a frown formed on her face.

* * *

**_Flashback – Normandy Mess Hall  
Jasmine Shepard  
_**

_"How are you two doing as cuff-mates?"_

_Wrex shrugged and replied "She's alright. She's still squashy but she's easy to get along with. Might be due to her spending time with Krogan before she met me."_

_The three humans and the sole Turian turned to Jasmine to elaborate further on her involvement with the Krogan race._

_Jasmine saw the looks on their faces and merely took a sip of her coffee and said "I had a mission once that had me team up with a Krogan squad. They were pretty much like jocks in high school. They thought they were the shit and I had to force them to realize that I was the one in charge. Wasn't easy though."_

_Wrex nodded then let out a laugh. "She challenged them to a fight. One on three. They didn't back down of course due to not wanting shame themselves but from what Jasmine told me, she had to use her head to defeat them."_

_"Now how did that work out?" Ashley asked, clearly interested._

_"Well…The challenge was simple. Since I was a "squishy flesh female", they gave me 24 hours to defeat them all in combat at any time I desired. So the three days before the day of the challenge, I stalked all three of them to learn their schedules. When they might be the weakest..."_

_ Jasmine paused to take another sip of her coffee and murmured "That's the stuff," before she spoke up and said "The first Krogan, Jayck had a huge problem with needing his Asari "Assistant" so he was the first one I targeted. I waited until 5 o'clock in the morning for him to sneak off to meet his Asari "friend"and during this time, he was thinking with his quad and not with his head. So he didn't expect me to fall from the shadows on his head and forcibly steer him into the lake nearby."_

_"And Krogans cannot swim well," Wrex added with an amused smirk on his face._

_"But this one did know how but the moment he got out, I dazed his ass with a grenade and knocked him out with a club that was created just for taking our Krogan enemies. I called it "Shield Breaker"…I certainly miss that thing," Jasmine said, her tone become wistful at her lost weapon._

* * *

**_End Flashback – Therum_**

**_Liara Extraction Squad_**

"Jasmine, are you ok?"

Jasmine's eyes snapped up to see Tali beside her and despite the mask, Jasmine could tell that she was concerned for her.

"I'm ok," Jasmine assured with a tiny smile. "It'll just give me a chance to end beat his ass again," Jasmine added with a boastful smirk but inside, she wondered if she could do it.

Despite him being a pigheaded brute, she and Jayck were allies at the end of the day, even going as far as to save his life and vice versa near the end of the mission they were on. To know that she was now going to have to fight and possibly kill him unnerved her.

But she will get to that road when it presents itself.

"Thanks for the warning Dr. T'Soni. We will be back soon," Jasmine said before she nodded at the three by her side, signaling for them to follow her.

The four quickly left to head down to the lower floor but Jasmine stopped them when she saw movement. Couching down, Jasmine pulled out her sniper rifle and saw two shock troopers along with a pair of regular troopers and one sniper fiddling with a console connected to a large laser.

"I think I found a way to get Doctor T'Soni free," Tali told them team suddenly, eyeing the laser.

"How?" Ashley asked her with a tilt of her head.

"Simple," Tali said with confidence. "If we can blast a hole into the wall, it'll make us a tunnel that will get us underneath the barrier. I know it's not the best of plans but what else do we have?"

Jasmine closed her eyes in thought.

That plan didn't sound half bad at all.

"I think it's a good idea Tali. We have nothing else to go on so this is our best bet," Jasmine told her after she opened her eyes to look at the Quarian.

Tali stared at her current leader with wide eyes that seemed to shine beneath her helmet.

She thought her plan was a good one? She suddenly looked down with heated cheeks, glad to have her helmet covering her face at that moment but it quickly went away when Jasmine gave her orders.

"Tali, Wrex, when me and Ashley killed these two Geth, I want you to go down there and finish the others. We'll watch your back." Tali and Wrex nodded before carefully going down the walkway, Tali pulling out her pistol and Wrex pulling out his assault rifle.

"On the count of three Ashley. I want you to take out one of the shock troopers while I take out the sniper…" Jasmine commanded as she pointed her index and middle finger at the soldier's targets.

Ashley nodded and held her sniper rifle close and held her gaze on a shock trooper, waiting for Jasmine's word.

"Now!"

And with that, the two took the shot, instantly downing the shock trooper and sniper while Tali rushed forward and begun to blast the shock trooper immediately, taking down its shields then killing it while Wrex sprayed his two opponents with his assault rifle.

None of them stood a chance.

After regrouping in front of the console, Jasmine gave Tali a pat on the shoulder while she eyed the console and said "You can do it."

Tali nodded and began to type in a few buttons on the console and after a moment, the laser had activated, slamming into the ground for a long minute in the half before it turned off, revealing a large hole within the ground but they could see the white walls of the chamber.

Tali was stunned.

Her idea actually worked!

Jasmine placed an arm on her left shoulder which prompted the Quarian to look at her.

"You're plan worked. I sure am glad to have you here on my team and I have a deep suspicion Shepard would be proud of that fact as well, now more than ever," Jasmine told her before she watched her leader walk ahead with Wrex, who had given her a nod of approval.

"You did a bang up job with that plan. Nice work girl," Ashley told her with a smile on her face before sprinting after the two.

Tali felt her cheeks heat up more at the praise she had gotten but Jasmine's words were the ones they lingered in her head more…

_"I sure am glad to have you here on my team and I have a deep suspicion Shepard would be proud of that fact as well, now more than ever."_

"Keelah…" She murmured softly before shaking her head.

What was she doing?

She was in unknown territory and now she was far away from her team and here she was, gushing over the words and approval of her team?

Tali didn't want them disappointed in her so soon after she impressed them so with a wide smile, she ran into the tunnel and saw them waiting on an elevator platform and once she got on, Jasmine pressed a button on the console and they all rode the machine all the way up.

After the ride, the four of them saw Liara's back facing them while she was floating in mid-air and approached her, with Ashley saying in sarcastic tone "Your knights in shining armor have arrived, Doctor T'Soni."

Liara made a surprised sound and struggled to turn her head to face them but they could tell that she was ecstatic to see them behind her.

"Goddess, you scared me," She shrieked lightly before she said "H-How did you get in here? I didn't think anyone could get passed this blasted barrier."

Ashley merely pointed to the small quarian beside her and answered "It was thanks to Tali. She suggested we use the mining laser to blast our way in here."

Tali merely beamed beneath her helmet.

"Ah…Of course. That makes perfect sense. It was a very good plan. Thank you Tali," Liara said to her before saying in a drained tone "N-Now please…Get me out of here…That neon green button on the console to your left should get me out of here."

Wrex walked over to the button and gave it a simple press, the blue orb around Liara shimmered and wavered until it faded out of existence, causing the weakened asari to fall to the ground.

Jasmine and Tali quickly walked over to her and helped her up by placing her arms around their shoulders and lifted her up off the ground. "T-Thank you…" she murmured weakly.

"This is all peachy but we need to get out of here before any more Geth arrive," Ashley said with a twinge of annoyance, pulling out her pistol, just in case.

"Y-You are right. There should be an elevator in the center of the tower. At least I think that's an elevator. It should take us out of here." Liara explained while weakly turning her head to the elevator in question.

"Good, now let's get out of here," Wrex commanded and together, the four of them plus a weakened asari began walking to the elevator.

"I still can't believe all of this…Why would the Geth come after me? Do you think this Saren or Benezia is involved with this?" Liara asked in hazy confusion, looking at Tali and then at Jasmine.

Ashley could only snort at this and replied with a sarcastic drawl "They're looking for the conduit. Think about it. Who else in the universe would know about that kind of information? Don't think too hard about it Miss Prothean expert."

Jasmine's eyes were on Ashley's face again, a scowl barely being held back.

Before Liara could reply back, everything around them began to shake violently, causing all of them to stumble around for a moment before it stopped.

"What in the hell was that?" Wrex asked with a scowl marring his scarred face.

"T-The ruins…" Liara replied weakly. "It's not stable anymore. That mining laser must have triggered some sort of seismic event."

Tali couldn't help but lower her head in shame.

Her idea had help caused this.

"We need to hurry…This entire place is going to cave in," Jasmine motioned for Ashley to come over to her and when she got close to him, she slipped Liara's arm over her shoulder and pressed the transmitter that was attached to his helmet and said "Joker, I need the Normandy in the air and locked on onto my signal ten minutes ago!"

_"God woman! Can you not give me a heart attack? Everything is good to go ETA, eight minutes, seven tops." _ Joker replied before cutting off the transmission.

"This is going to be really close Jasmine," Tali murmured softly.

"If I die in here Jasmine, I'm going to kill you then skin you alive," Wrex told her with a warning tone in his voice.

Jasmine could only remain silent as her fear of history repeating itself began to form.

_"Commander! We're going down! You need to get out of here!"_

_"You mean the world to us Commander…That's why we need you to live!"_

_"Whatever happens, I'm honored to have joined the Titan! Now get out of here!"_

Jasmine shook her head to try to clear her head from the ghosts that decided now was the good time to strike.

_"Kill as many Geth you can for us!"_

_"Get out now!"_

_"Commander, what will we do?!"_

Jasmine took a deep breath and willed the voices of her fallen allies before she turned to the stern looking Wrex and said "No, I won't have any of you die under my watch!"

Jasmine activated the lift they were standing on (With Liara's directions of course) and together, the five of them went rising into the air, all of them to tense to even form a single word.

They needed to get out of this place as soon as possible before they all died.

The moment the lift stopped at the highest level, the five of them found that a pair Geth shock troopers, a Geth rocket trooper, a Geth sniper and finally, a Krogan wearing dark onyx armor with a glowing yellow insignia on the left side of his chest walking towards them, their only exit out of this chamber being closed by a blue force field.

And from what Jasmine could tell, the Krogan had a wide grin on his face the moment he looked at her.

"Well, I was expecting a lot of things but to see you here, Hero of the Skyllian Blitz is a pleasant surprise," The Krogan stated as he pulled out his shotgun.

"Jayck…" Jasmine said with a frown on her face, her hand resting on her pistol, her eyes locked on the face of the smirking Krogan.

"Look Jasmine, I'm going to skip right to the point. Saren and the Matriarch wants that fine piece of blue ass to come with us and despite our past, I can't let you leave with her…" Jayck told her with a cocky smirk.

"So, If you want to keep breathing, hand her over and we'll let you walk," The Krogan finished as he rested his shotgun on his shoulder.

Jasmine turned her head to face the weakened Liara before she glanced at Wrex, who stood by her side with a rather sullen look.

She then turned her head to Ashley and Tali, both of which had lowered Liara to the ground stood in front of her, shotguns in their hands.

Feeling that they have made their choice, Jasmine finally turned back to Jayck and said "As much as I hate to fight my allies…I can't hand her over."

"Then I guess talking is over. Let's have a little fun," Jayck responded with a toothy grin.

"Yeah…Let's have some fun," Jasmine murmured before she lifted up her rifle and firing it, spraying the two unprepared Rocket and Shock Geth till they fell to the ground, defeated.

Ashley and Tali both began to fire at the Sniper and second Shock Geth until they fell defeated as well and last but not least, Wrex began to fire his assault rifle at Jayck, who instantly leapt behind a pillar to avoid the bullets.

Jasmine and Wrex looked at each other when the enemy Krogan ducked and quickly advanced to the area but when Jasmine had gotten the right of the pillar, the fist of the Jayck suddenly appeared in her vision.

Jasmine only had a second to close her eyes and brace for impact Jayck's fist rammed into the helmet so hard, her entire helmet shattered apart as she flew backwards into the air and landed on her back.

Seeing Jasmine being laid out by the punch of the Krogan, Wrex charged forward and tackled the Krogan, who was lifted off of his feet and forcefully carried towards the wall where Wrex slammed him into the wall then twisted his body and slammed him into the ground but the Krogan glowed blue and pushed Wrex off of him with his own biotics up on the ceiling where he pulled out his shotgun and aimed it at Wrex.

Jasmine groaned out in pain as she turned her body around so she was on her chest and tried to force herself to her feet but she stumbled and fell back on the ground, her entire face bloody from the pieces of his broken visor in her face.

She wiped the blood from her eyes and turned around while she simultaneously pulled out her pistol and repeatedly fired at the hand of the Krogan, managing to shoot the shotgun from her opponent's hand after the fifth shot.

Despite the blood, Jasmine could see the surprise on her ally turned enemy's face but that look changed into annoyance as he quickly rolled away to avoid Wrex's body from falling on top of his.

As the Krogan stood up and let out a roar and came charging towards him, Jasmine pulled out her shotgun and used it to steady herself on her feet but she stumbled forward and fell on one knee.

Jasmine saw that Jayck was right before her with his right hand right to knock her head clear off but she lifted her shotgun up and shot up at Krogan's chest, but the shield around the Krogan stopped him from suffering any injuries but it did cause the Krogan to skid back from the impact.

"Close but no cigar," Jayck said before he started to charge forward towards the barely standing Jasmine once again.

Seeing Jasmine in danger, Ashley and Tali began firing their respective weapons to slow the Krogan down just enough for Jasmine summon enough energy to leap to the side to avoid the slowed down Krogan's charge but she remained on the ground, trying to fight off her unconsciousness.

The Krogan turned around while pulling out his pistol and aimed it at the two females but he was suddenly pushed back forcefully into the wall behind him by Wrex's biotics, causing him to drop his pistol.

The Krogan fell on one knee to grab his gun but seeing this, Ashley yelled "Oh no you don't!" before she charged at the Krogan and repeatedly shot at the Krogan three times, taking down the remainder of his shields.

Jayck used his biotics to send Ashley flying backwards before he got to his feet and quickly his own shotgun and took three shots at the charging Wrex, which slowed down the red armored Krogan and that was where Jayck charged forward and tackled Wrex off his feet and laid two brutal punches To Wrex's face.

Wrex grabbed the hands of the Krogan and gave a hard headbutt to Jayck, whose head was whipped back from the blow and that was when Jasmine came from out of nowhere to dropkick left side of the Krogan's head.

Jayck fell to the side and lifted himself up but the last thing the Krogan would ever see was the barrel of Wrex's shotgun before Wrex pulled the trigger.

Wrex panted heavily and kneeled on one knee, his eyes locked on the now deceased Krogan and said "Rest in peace kin…" before he turned to see Jasmine on her back, finally unconscious.

"Whew, that was a close one," Tali murmured with an exhausted sigh but suddenly, another quake over took them.

"Shit, we need to get out of here!" Ashley shrieked out as she ran back to Liara and Tali and placed the weak asari's arm around her shoulder as Tali did the same to Liara's other arm and together, the two ran of the chamber.

Wrex immediately scooped up the barely conscious Jasmine under his arm and dashed out from the collapsing area, forcing himself to run as fast as he could, despite the added weight on his body but even with the weight, he wouldn't stop until both he and Jasmine managed to escape.

These ruins were not going to become their grave site.

After turning a sharp corner and running up a few flights of platform, Wrex could see the forms of Ashley and Tali carrying Liara's body outside and quickly doubled his efforts but he could see more of the ruins falling in front of the exit until only a small sliver of light from above it was seen.

With a mighty roar, Wrex jumped forward and put all of his weight into his shoulder and broke through the large chunks of debris that was blocking the way, sending the side of his body slamming into the ground, nearly making a dent in the metal ramp below.

"You so owe me Jasmine." Wrex panted out lightly, unfurling his other arm so Jasmine's body rolled off of his and landed next to him.

* * *

Rain: And like that, Therum is completed. So what will happen next, as always, tune in next time!

Mario: See you next time!


	14. Chapter 14

Rain: And I am back with a brand new chapter. This one was a bastard to get out but I did it! So sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

Mario: Here we go!

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Sins of the Future  
Chapter Fourteen: Worry and Thanks_**

_"Shepard-Commander…Does this Unit have a soul?"_

_"They changed a scared little girl to an all-powerful bitch."_

_"__Must counteract sabotage….Stop me if you must."_

_"__I am Grunt…If you worthy of your command…Prove your strength and try to destroy me…"_

Shepard's head began to whip back and forth, sweat dripping down his face.

_"__I don't know who you are, not since they got their hands on you…"_

_"__I should've been this way back on Vimire but I made the mistake of trusting you and believing you were my friend…I was a fool!"_

_"__Belay that, go back and go get Williams…It's the right choice and you know that, Ash…"_

Shepard's eyes clenched tightly as his hands bunched up the sheets beneath him.

_"It is reminded me of what is truly important…Why I swore I would lay down my life…I'm sorry Shepard, by the Justicar's code, there is only one way to save her…"_

_"__I'll march into any hell you want but not with a fake smile on my face. Nothing positive about grinning like an idiot."_

_"You were warned about the Reapers! Why did you not prepare?!"_

Shepard's breathing began to quicken as his eyes clenched tighter than before, his fists gripping the sheets tighter.

_"Won't do any good…Hell of a fight…Shepard…You should've seen it…"_

_"I'm still human Shepard…I make mistakes like everyone else…I don't have what you do…That fire that makes someone willing to follow you into hell itself…"_

_"…None of them are an excuse to make yourself an Island…"_

Shepard gasped out as the pain in his head intensified, his fist clenching the sheets so hard, blood began to seep through it.

_"It feels like years since I just…Sat down…"_

_"I've lived a full life…No regrets. I'd like to see the crew get the same opportunity…"_

_"I'm the best thief in the business…Not the most famous…Need to watch my step to keep it that way."_

"S-Stop," He murmured pitifully in his sleep, groaning in pain.

_"And when I gave you to Cerberus…I told myself I was doing it for you…For a chance to bring you back…"_

_"It's so much easier to see the world in black and white…Grey. I don't know what to do with grey…"_

_"I beg you…Do not do this…Please…I loved you…"_

**_"You cannot defeat us…Coming back will not change anything… Your failure has already been written in stone!"_**

With a gasp, Shepard rose up from his prone position in his bedroom and slowly laid back down, his hair sticking to his face due to the sweat that caked it.

'Damn…I went to sleep…' Shepard thought to himself with a heavy sigh that was filled with annoyance before he turned his head to the clock.

Thirty minutes.

He had taken a thirty minute rest and yet that dream felt as if it was an eternity. Despite the promise he made, he decided that he needed no more rest. He needed to get out of this place before it drove him insane.

Shepard swung his legs to the side of the bed and raised off of it and gave a small stretch before he walked out from his room and after a brief ride in the elevator, he found himself sitting in the mess hall, chowing down on some food.

* * *

**_The Normandy - Mess Hall  
Commander Rock Shepard_**

After grabbing his food from the chef, Shepard was in the middle of eating a Sloppy Joe when he felt someone sit by his side with a heavy sigh accompanying the person beside him. When Shepard turned his head, he saw that it was Lizbeth that had joined his side but she looked exhausted.

"Hey Commander," The female whispered with an exhausted smile on her face.

"Hello Lizbeth. How are you feeling aboard the Normandy?" Shepard asked, a little bit concerned about how she was faring on the ship.

Out of everything in this alternate world, Lizbeth was one of the new faces he had aboard his ship and at the time, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

In his timeline, he didn't talk to her too much since she was someone he would never encounter again but since he was impressed by the grenades she had created, he wanted to give her a shot aboard the Normandy to see what she could really do.

"Honestly, I'm having a blast. Everyone on the ship is very nice to me and you guys rock!" Lizbeth said with an excited smile but before Shepard knew it, that smile changed into an exhausted frown. "It's just...I know that you bought me on the ship due to me being a scientist that could help but I'm drawing blanks on how to test some of my creations…"

"Well…" Shepard said with an unsure tone before he asked "What type of creations are they?"

"Since we are dealing with Geth, I decided to work on creating a grenade that once thrown at a large group of Geth, it can shut them down with an EMP and for the Geth that are away from the blast zone, shards of electrified metal can pierce through them and destroy them as well."

"Interesting…Very interesting," Shepard said with a nod, his tone showing that he was truly invested in the idea.

_'__Not to mention with Noveria and Virmire being Geth heavy, this grenade of hers might come in handy,' _Shepard thought with an inward grin before he asked "And I'm sure that this device will work on humans, right?"

Lizbeth nodded with a smile and replied "Yeah. The shard would be able to go through humans like tissue paper. I will also say that it can heavily damage a Krogan as well but I am also working on a few new things as well when it comes to everyone's armor along with their weapons which should help everyone as well."

Lizbeth then tilted her head and said "Not to mention the potions and med-gel upgrades and I'm pretty much super busy," Lizbeth concluded but then let out another sigh and added "But I need some help testing them out. I had Kaidan test out the potions..."

"Potions?" Shepard asked. "Like…Straight out of the fairytale books potions?"

"Well that's my name for them. I mean, it is a liquid that can boost up the normal properties that we have in our body by tenfold," Lizbeth said with a small pout, defending the name of her invention.

"For example, one of the potions I created was the "Haste" potion. Basically, it's supposed to replenish lost energy. Not only physical and mental, but even biotic energy from those that can use it. It worked too! But the after effects caused Kaidan to pretty much be uncontrollable before he crashed hard."

Shepard was amused as the image of a super amped of Kaidan running around the Normandy but that got him thinking. As much as he questioned the name of this creation, she somehow managed to make it work and succeeded, though the after effects caused certain issues.

"I see…Is the "Haste" potion the only one so far?" Shepard asked.

Lizbeth nodded and mumbled "Yeah. The others are still a work in progress sadly until I get them tested."

Shepard let a small grin appear on his face as he stood up from his spot and said "I'll test them out for you."

Lizbeth looked at Shepard in shock as she stammered out "A-Are you serious Commander?" Shepard laughed at replied "I'm very serious. You are creating things that can help us out there on the field. I want to make sure that they do as intended. Worst case scenario, they all wind up killing me."

'And I've already died twice now,' Shepard thought with a wry chuckle. "So let's get to testing." Just as Shepard said those words, his Omni-Tool chirped. Shepard looked at Lizbeth with an apologetic smile before he looked down and said "This is Shepard."

_"__Shepard, this is Joker. I just picked up the ground team. The mission was success. However, Jasmine was wounded in the final push of the mission. We just got her to Med-Bay,"_ Joker said with a serious tone in his voice.

Shepard felt his heart stop at this news.

Jasmine was injured…How severe was it?

Was she going to live?

Would another coffin rest on his shoulders?

And the most telling question he had was why hadn't he just gone?

If he had gone, no one would have gotten injured on this mission, especially since he knew how it would go…He should've broken his promise to the women…And now because he hadn't…Jasmine was hurt…

"I need to go. Let everyone know to meet up in the meeting room to discuss our next plans and when the meeting is done, we'll meet up later for the test drive," Shepard told her before he quickly ran off before he could even hear her response.

* * *

**_The Normandy - Medical Bay  
Commander Rock Shepard_**

Shepard walked into the Med-Bay but they were shocked to see Wrex standing in the corner as Chakwas just finished working her magic on the unconscious Jasmine. "Shepard," Wrex mumbled, his eyes looking at Shepard briefly before they returned to Jasmine's form.

"How is she Chakwas?" Shepard asked the doctor, who was now wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"She's doing fine. It's actually remarkable she was able to survive a full powered punch from a Krogan."

"What?!" Shepard exclaimed in shock, ignoring the guffaw that Wrex gave due to the shout.

"Yes. In fact, she'll make a full recovery. It is strange though…She should be scarred up but the minute I wiped away all the blood, I could see the many cuts but they started to glow an electric blue before fading away, leaving her virtually unmarked…It is strange…."

Shepard's eyes narrowed at this but then his eyes widened.

It couldn't have been…

Shepard shook his head and thought '_No…It couldn't have been possible she was indoctrinated…It must be something else…But what?'_ Shepard thought to himself.

* * *

**_Unknown Location  
Jasmine Shepard_**

_The air was crisp as a gentle snowfall fell down around Jasmine as she looked on in wonder at the area around her._

_The entire place looked honestly beautiful with the sky reflecting from the water with tiny rainbow colored crystal shards floating from the water and into the sky towards the glowing moon above._

_And by her left was a large area of water with a waterfall on the other side of the body of water. In the clear water, she could see that her face was filled with both confusion and awe at the beauty that was currently around her._

_It was then that she noticed a small ethereal child standing beside her, its face curious, which caused Jasmine to instantly jump back in surprise as she raised her fist, an alarmed yell leaving her mouth._

_"__The hell are you?!" Jasmine exclaimed, her fists instantly in front of her air to attack. The ethereal child chuckled, seemingly amused by this action._

_"__Have no fear, I am not here to harm you," The child spoke but its voice seemed emotionally detached. "I am merely here to provide some assistance to Rock Shepard."_

_Jasmine's left eyebrow quirked at this, her eyes still locked on the child before here._

_Was she dreaming?_

_She had to have been dreaming._

_Otherwise, how could this thing know the name of her brother?_

_Then she realized what he had just said._

_"__Assistance? What do you mean by that?" Jasmine asked, her guard lowering just a tad, signified by her arms lowering somewhat._

_This time, the child merely smiled, albeit strained, and replied "In answering my question."_

* * *

**_The Normandy - Medical Bay  
Commander Rock Shepard_**

_'__Whatever it is…I'll find out when she wakes up…'_ Shepard thought to himself before he turned to Wrex and asked "What happened down there that lead up to her getting punched in the face by a Krogan?"

It was now just Shepard and Wrex in the room with the unconscious Jasmine due to Chakwas needing to take lunch break.

Wrex smirked tiredly at Shepard and told him everything that happened during the mission and ended with "Jasmine decided to fight a Krogan head on and paid the price. Has a quad on her to do so too. It was even the same Krogan she worked with back in the day. Luckily, Tali, Ashley and myself were there. If we weren't…Who knows what could have happened."

Shepard nodded and muttered "I should have gone with Wrex…"

"Shepard, I get that you're the leader of our rag tag bunch but even you need a break and Jasmine was a good leader," Wrex stated. "Besides, seeing you in action, you would have met the same fate."

Shepard chuckled, knowing full well that in his own time, he did fight that Krogan head on and nearly wound up getting killed doing so but he still felt guilty. "But that's the point…It should have been on this table…Not her…"

"I know the guilt you hold all too well Shepard…But in the end, it was her own actions that led her to this state. Other than this, the mission was a success. We managed to save the Asari and now that's one more ally for us."

Shepard nodded and looked to Wrex and said "Thank you for the pep-talk Wrex…" with a genuine smile on his face. "Who knew you of all of us can give them," Shepard then joked, which made Wrex crack a grin of his own and chuckled.

"Don't get used to it, Shepard," Wrex responded with another chuckle before he looked to Jasmine's prone form and said "I hope she wakes up soon."

It was faint but Shepard could hear the worry in Wrex's voice and thought 'Hm…I've never heard his voice like that before…'

He was worried about Jasmine.

Shepard bit back a grin and then thought 'Seems my team exercise is working after all…But I'll worry about that later. Right now, we need to rest,' Shepard then placed a hand on Wrex's shoulder and said "We need to get to the meeting room and discuss our next plan."

Wrex nodded and pushed himself from the wall and gave one last look at Jasmine before he fully left the room, leaving Shepard to say to the unconscious Jasmine "Wake up soon…" Before walking out as well.

* * *

**_The Normandy – Sleeping Quarters  
Garrus Vakarian_**

"What an exhausting mission…" Garrus said to himself with a small sigh as he laid in his bed, his dress attire being a simple Turian made tank top with loose fitting pants, both articles of clothing being dark blue in color.

He knew that he should be calibrating a few things that needed it but he was so worn out from the mission that he just wanted to sleep for a little while but something was stopping him from fully resting.

And it was the form of Ashley Williams, staring at him in the doorway with a blank look on her face. "Why did you stay?" Ashley asked.

"Why did I stay? Stay for what?" Garrus asked in return, genuinely confused at her question. What in the world was she talking about?

Ashley stepped further into the room and said "You and I don't like each other. We don't see eye to eye on a lot of things…Tali being one of them but during the mission, I practically begged you to stay, knowing that you would still leave but you stayed…"

Ashley now stood in front of his bed with a confused look on her face as she asked "Why did you stay?"

_'__Ah…So that's why she's so confused…'_ Garrus thought with an inward chuckle before he leaned up off his bed and explained "I just couldn't leave you behind. You were right. You would have been killed had I left. I couldn't leave you behind, despite how much we don't get along."

"I see," Ashley responded softly before she gave him a smile and for a moment, Garrus felt his heart skip a beat.

He had only seen her frown, scowl and smirk but she never smiled until now…She was actually very beautiful with a smile on her face.

"Thank you for staying with me. We may not get along but at least I know I can depend on you to watch my back…" Ashley then turned around and walked towards the door before she paused and looked back at Garrus and said "Get to the meeting room, Shepard requests all of us," before fulling walking out.

Garrus stared at the door for a moment before he shook his head and quickly grabbed a dark blue jacket before leaving his room as well.

* * *

Rain: And that is the end of this chapter. I am so sorry for the long wait but I have finally gotten it out. The next few chapters will be more light compared to the action heavy ones that have occurred so until next time!

Mario: See you next time!


	15. Chapter 15

Rain: And I live! I'm so sorry it took so long, I actually had so much to do when it came to this fic but I am back. I wound up having to play through ME again so I could figure out my next step. So we have Noveria left as a mission before I decide what occurs on that ill-fated mission so let's get it started!

Mario: Here we go!

* * *

**_Mass Effect: Sins of the Future_**  
**_Chapter Fifteen: Thoughts of a Future_**

**_The Normandy – Medical Bay  
Jasmine Shepard_**

Jasmine groaned in pain as her eyes flittered open, only to close them immediately due to the bright ceiling lights above her.

She could hear the faint humming of the heart machine by her side and she immediately deduced that she was in the medical bay.

Slowly, she lifted herself off of the bed and held her head in pain.

She honestly didn't have any idea about what had transpired in her dream.

_"__The Rockland Shepard that you know is not of this time…He is from a different universe that have already fallen to the Reapers…"_

"Reapers…" Jasmine breathed out as she wiped the sweat off her brow.

That word…The way that ethereal child said that name brought her dread. There was something seriously foreboding about it.

At first, Jasmine didn't believe him.

There was no way this kid was talking the truth and then he did something she never expected.

He took her through all that Shepard had done.

From the moment he found the artifact on Eden Prime until his "Death" at the crucible, Jasmine watched it all and for each passing second she watched, her horror and amazement grew.

Jasmine didn't know what to think right now.

Rock had been through a lot and made some pretty dark choices that resulted in many people dying but what he was facing, it was no wonder he had to make some hard choices.

But at the same time, she knew now why he was so different from her brother…He wasn't truly her brother.

Well…His mind wasn't her brother at least.

From what she saw of his memories, everything that happened was the same thing that occurred with her past with her baby brother and everything that occurred in his past, from his moniker "The butcher of Torfan" along with the Alliance's secret Black-Ops group known as the "New Dawn" but while all of that was the same…He was an only child.

Jasmine would be the first to admit that her baby brother was an emotionless person after what occurred to their parents on that day…

He only lived for revenge and was quite the cold, emotionless person and from what she saw of Shepard's timeline, this lined up the same way.

But in this timeline, she could literally see a difference from how Shepard was in his timeline/her brother was during his mission on Eden Prime to Shepard now and it was a huge one.

This Shepard seemed to smile a bit more and joke around with everyone and he was more concerned about his teammates and their wellbeing unlike in his time where he seemed more concerned about keeping his distance from everyone, along with how her brother was originally.

In his time, Fai Dan and all of those at Zhu's Hope were murdered but Shepard went out of his way to save them this time around and she had a feeling that if her brother was here, he would have killed them as well.

But despite this Shepard being different and despite her not being, it still hurt her that this stranger took over the body of her brother…Even if they were the same person with the same past.

He may have been an emotionless tool that was twisted with unending darkness after all they had been through but that was her brother and he was gone…

All the memories she and her brother shared, both good or bad, was left with her now…

But he was here to save her timeline from something fearsome and if he hadn't come, her brother would have wound up just like him, making the same mistakes and he would have died near the very end.

But as the kid told her, it could have been her that met Shepard's fate had he not entered the scene…

And if she was honest with herself, she couldn't have had the fortitude to continue on if she made the same choices he had.

As much as she hated to admit it, he was the best hope this universe has due to his knowledge of things to come.

Besides…She couldn't be angry at him at all.

He didn't know that this would all occur or that he would basically erase her little brother but what she was angry about was that ghost kid or whatever it was.

It was the one who erased her brother.

That was the one that should be feeling her anger, not Rock. Not the one who was actually trying to save her universe.

Will she treat him any differently because she knew where he was truly from, she didn't know for sure but what she did know was that she was going to help him at any cost to save their universe.

She will not let it fall like his did.

Just then, Dr. Chakwas walked into the room, staring at a clipboard and muttering to herself but when she looked up and saw Jasmine sitting up in the bed, she jumped in surprise and said "Ah, you're awake!"

Jasmine chuckled and asked with a confused tone "Why wouldn't I be?"

Chakwas quirked her right eyebrow and said "You got punch by a Krogan…While running at top speed. I was surprised to see that you survived that. I am more surprised that you are awake immediately after that….and that you have no wounds, where you should be scarred to all hell…But you are completely healed…"

Jasmine looked to the mirror that was hanging on the wall to her left and noticed that she didn't have a single scar on her face and thought _'How can that be? Did the ghost thing heal me?'_

Jasmine shook her head and said "I suppose I got lucky. Then again, it would be a crime to for something this sexy to be scarred."

Chakwas rolled her eyes with a slight smile and said "Such a cocky response Jasmine."

"Its part of my charm," Jasmine responded instantly with a smile on her face, which made Chakwas chuckle once more.

"You are definitely the Commander's sister," Chakwas commented before she chuckled again and added "Now hush, let me inspect you and make sure everything is alright."

Jasmine nodded and as Chakwas inspected her face, the doctor said "I am truly stunned that there wasn't any damage left."

Jasmine frowned at this and asked "Was it truly that bad?"

Chakwas leaned away from Jasmine and crossed her arms and replied "When you came in here, there was blood coming from every ounce of your face. I couldn't even find your mouth due to all of the blood."

Jasmine lowered her gaze and stared down at the floor beneath her and murmured "I see…"

"The Commander blamed himself for sending you out there," Chakwas responded as she continued to check her body. "He felt that it should have been him there and him on this table instead of you."

_'__Rocky…You idiot…'_ Jasmine thought silently.

After ten minutes, Chakwas said "Well, I can't find anything wrong with you Jasmine. You are all free to go…"

Jasmine nodded and slide her feet to the ground and said "Thanks Doc…question, have you seen the good Commander anywhere?"

Chakwas, who was putting away some of her utensils, nodded and replied with "Yes. He is currently in the meeting room, debriefing with the rest of the crew."

Jasmine nodded and thanked the good doctor and made her way to the door but the moment she did, the door opened and Jasmine found herself staring into the ocean blue eyes of the Liara T'Soni.

Jasmine was transfixed on how beautiful these eyes had look to her and took her more than a moment to shake her gaze away but from the bashful smile on Liara's face, it showed that Jasmine was too late in breaking the gaze.

"Hey, sorry for n-nearly bumping into you," Jasmine said with a stammer, her voice cheerful, despite being flustered.

Liara's blue eyes darted to the right as her cheeks turned a darker shade of blue as she let out a small laugh and said "I-It's quite alright."

"You're Dr. T'Soni, right? I'm Jasmine but call me Jazz. I know we didn't speak much after Therum but I have a meeting to get to but I'll catch you around!" Jasmine tried to walk away as fast as possible to not draw out this awkward exchange.

But as Jasmine walked past her, she managed to catch Liara's soft voice as she said "Well why don't we walk there together? I was supposed to go anyways but I needed to grab my notebook to take notes."

Jasmine blinked and turned back to the Asari but the minute she did, their eyes locked once more…but this time, Jasmine was able to break the gaze quicker this time around. "Sure. We can walk together," Jasmine responded, keeping the stammer at of her voice this time.

Liara gave her another shy grin before she ran into the back room for a moment but as she waited, Chakwas quirked a brow at her, an amused smile playing on her lips, which made Jasmine want to flip her off.

But she immediately did not want to tick her off. Besides, she was raised to respect her elders and damn it, she was going to stick to that teaching. Liara came out of the back room with her seafoam green notebook in her arms and together the two left the room.

As the two walked towards the elevator to get to the Command Deck, Jasmine found herself reflecting on Chakwas' words.

_ "__You are definitely the Commander's sister."_

_"__The Commander blamed himself for sending you out there. He felt that it should have been him there and him on this table instead of you."_

_'__But why would he think this…He's not my brother and yet...He worries about me as if he was…Why?'_ Jasmine thought to herself with narrowed eyes, a frown on her face.

"You look troubled," Liara said, snapping Jasmine out of her thoughts.

Jasmine looked at her and gave her a small laugh and replied "Troubled? Me? I'm not troubled at all." Jasmine placed both of her hands behind her head and said with a thoughtful look "I'm just thinking about what I'm going to eat later."

Jasmine hoped that her voice was as convincing as it sounded to herself but Liara nodded and said "I'm glad that you ok. I didn't mean to pry but I overheard you and Dr. Karen talking. I'm sorry that you were injured because of me."

Jasmine cracked a toothy grin and said "Hey, it comes with being a soldier. I'm just glad we were able to complete the mission and save you."

Liara nodded looked down to the floor and said "But I still don't know why my mother would working with Saren…"

Jasmine's grin immediately melted off of her face, revealing the stern soldier that had saved Liara on Therum. "That I do not know either but that is why I am here…To find out her involvement."

Liara looked puzzled by the serious tone in Jasmine's voice and asked "It seems like you know my mother…"

"Know her? She saved my life," Jasmine responded and seconds later, the elevator doors opened and without thinking about, Jasmine grabbed Liara's hand and said "Come on. The Comm Room is this way."

* * *

**_The Normandy – Comm Room  
Commander Rock Shepard_**

"-So I just wanted to say that I am proud of you guys for completing the mission despite my absence. And despite her not being here…I'm sure she would be proud of you guys for how you did on the mission as well," Shepard said with a smile on his face.

He had just gotten through with debriefing his team about what had occurred and he was very proud of them for completing the mission. Shepard opened his mouth to continue with what he was going to say until Jasmine's voice rang out with "Of course. That's how a team is supposed to operate. Hence your teamwork test."

Shepard turned around sharply to see Jasmine leaning on the door with a small grin on her face. "Unless you thought it would fail?" She questioned teasingly.

"Not on your life," Shepard responded with a relieved laugh before he walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders and said with a small smile "I'm glad you're ok…I was worried about you when you came back after what happened…"

Jasmine chuckled and said "You can't keep a good soldier down Rock. You of all people should know that."

Shepard chuckled and replied "I will try to remember that then." Shepard's eyes then caught Liara's blue eyes staring back at him and for a moment, Shepard froze.

_'__Liara…'_ Shepard thought as he forced down the feelings that were threatening to bubble up in his chest.

Liara…

She had been his best friend, almost like a baby sister to him during the Saren saga in his universe and the two of them indulged in the darkness that he brought during the Suicide mission Saga and when he helped her become the Shadow Broker.

But as he looked at her, he felt so much guilt.

He had changed her from the bright, innocent archeologist to the dark killer she had become in an effort to save his body from the Shadow Broker…And he only caused her to become further swallowed by the dark emotions during the war with the reapers.

She had sacrificed her innocence to save the universe and he let her down by dying moments before he could do it…

He needed to do right by her and keep her from falling into his darkness and to honor what she had done by saving this universe.

Shepard quickly steeled his emotions and held out his right hand and said "Liara T'Soni…I am Commander Rockland Shepard."

Liara smiled and said "It's nice to meet you Shepard," and clasped her petite hand into his and shook it. Shepard removed his hand and said "Well I'm glad you're awake Jasmine and I'm glad you are here Liara because we are going to Noveria. Matriarch Benezia's been officially spotted there."

"She has?" Jasmine said in surprise.

"She has. We just got confirmation there from an insider," Shepard replied. "There were rumors about the sightings of Matriarch Benezia but as of today was spotted and that is where we will be heading next."

"About time," Garrus said with his eyes closed, which prompted Shepard to look at him. "She is the closest link to Saren. The sooner we get to her, the sooner we can finally take him down."

Kaidan chuckled and leaned further on the wall and added "And the sooner we can stop his plans with these so called 'Reapers',"

"Whatever they are…The Geth are helping them," Ashley said while crossing her arms and added "And that spells a shit ton of trouble for us all…"

Tali nodded and replied with an emotionless tone "I can only hope I can kill enough of them to make them pay for all of the lives they have stolen from all of our races."

"So it sounds like we are all on board with our next destination then," Shepard said with a hint of a joking tone in his voice.

"Of course," Lizbeth said with a smile on her face. "This is the last location on this adventure, right?"

"Far from it…Until we catch Saren and stop his threat, this adventure may never be over. Isn't that right, Rock?" Jasmine asked, her eyes locked onto his with a knowing smile on her face.

There was something about this smile that made Shepard uneasy. It was like she knew something about him that he didn't know…But just as he was going to shake off this thought, Jasmine mouthed _"We need to talk..."_

* * *

Rain: And that is where I will end it for now. The next chapter will have Jasmine and Rock talk along with some bonding between Rock and Tali along with….Ashley and Garrus?!

Mario: Mama Mia!


End file.
